Tamers West: Deva Brotherhood
by roguespirit
Summary: Alice McCoy and her family move to a new country and she ends up leading a new group of tamers against a cult of digimon called the Deva brotherhood, who vow to avenge and continue the work of the original Devas and who blame humanity for the D-Reaper.
1. Prologue

Tamers West

:Epilogue.

Yamaki stood almost perfectly still in the operations room at Hypnos, a permanent frown on his face. Dozens of conflicting emotions ran rampant in his mind as a result of today's events.

On the one hand Hypnos would soon be given more authority and it's jurisdiction would include all of southeast Asia including China and South Korea.

On the other hand, besides the greater responsibility of having to deal with digital threats beyond Japan, they had discovered that then the D-Reaper had left it had left weak points in the barrier that separated the real world from the digital world. What that meant was that digimon would now be able to enter the real world more easily and in more places around the world.

He resisted the urge to sigh as his subordinated, suspended high above him scanned the digital world for any unusual activity.

There had been an unusually large amount of data moving into one of the quadrants of the digital world. The same quadrant controlled by the Digimon Sovereign that the tamers had fought, and the one who had sent the Devas to the real world. These facts were making the United Nations and it's members very nervous.

'And rightly so', Yamaki thought. He put his hand in his right pocket checking to make sure his silver lighter was still there, a nervous habit.

"Scan complete sir, data compiled."

Yamaki removed his hand and focused himself, "Very good Riley, report."

"A two percent increase in data in the beta quadrant since yesterday, twelve hours ago."

Yamaki's brows furrowed deeper, two percent didn't sound like a lot until you saw how much data there was in total. He guessed it might be the equivalent of a dozen champion level digimon joining the rest already assembled.

The doors opened and everyone in the room turned to see whom had entered.

Yamaki turned to meet the older man, "Dolphin", he greeted.

Rob McCoy stopped in front of him and returned the greeting, "Yamaki."

Ymaki again resisted the urge to sigh, this was the moment he had been dreading all afternoon. "I heard you were leaving."

Dolphin's face now had a frown of it's own. "It's noting personal Yamaki, Japan's nice but we want to be a little closer to family."

Yamaki nodded, "I know it's nothing personal Dolphin, I just needed to hear it from you."

Dolphin's eyes narrowed slightly, "I see."

Yamaki clenched his jaw, he knew dolphin was to smart to think that he had been "invited" to this room simply for that. "Where are you thinking of going?"

Dolphin sighed and adjusted his glasses, "Well we have family in North America that I haven't seen in a long time so It'd be nice to go there."

Yamaki flexed his right hand, "Have you heard what happened this morning?"

Dolphin nodded, "Yeah Hypnos now has authority in most of Asia to respond to digital threats."

"That's right", Yamaki said, "But were not the only such program in the world anymore." Both men looked at the world map on the room's big screen. Both North America and the European Union have started their own programs. The Europeans in at NATO head quarters in Belgium. North America's NORAD has a program based at their headquarters in Canada."

Dolphin looked surprised, "Why Canada?"

"Simple, they based it at their Canadian headquarters because of the low population density in Canada, the lowest in the world. There fore there's less chance of people getting hurt and less chance of drawing the attention of the public eye."

Dolphin looked at him, "So is it NORAD you want me to go to?"

Yamaki was only slightly surprised at how quickly the programmer had caught on. "They specifically requested you."

"May I ask why?"

"They said it's because you speak both English and French fluently, but other than that I don't know."

Dolphin sighed, "Well I did want to stay involved with the digimon, and chances are if they didn't draft me, someone else would.

"That's probably truer than I'd like to tell you."

"Dolphin sighed heavily, "ell then you can tell them I accept."

Yamaki looked over Dolphin's shoulder, "You can tell him yourself."

Surprised Dolphin turned around to see a relatively tall man in a black suite and tie walking towards them.

"I'm glad to hear you accept our proposal Mr. McCoy. I'm Jacob Smith and I represent the Digital Response Division of NORAD on this matter."

Dolphin managed a nod, "Can I ask where I'll be sent?"

"To the Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg."

Dolphin raised and eyebrow, "Why Winnipeg?"

"Besides being the location of a NORAD headquarters and the accompanying supercomputer", Yamaki answered. "It's where the digimon are most likely to appear in North America."

Dolphin looked at him shocked, "But why?"

"Part of your job will be finding the answer to that question", he answered.

Dolphin's expression darkened, "Oh."

Mr. Smith addressed him, "Well Mr. McCoy perhaps I can come by your home later and discuss the details of your resettlement with you and your family."

Dolphin frowned, this guy was acting way too cheerful for his liking. "Fine, six o'clock."

Mr. Smith nodded, "I'll be there." Without another word he spun on his heel and walked out of the room.

The remaining two men turned to each other and Dolphin extended his hand towards the younger man. "I guess this is so long."

Yamaki smiled and shook his hand, "We'll keep in touch."

Dolphin smiled back, "Definitely."

The two men released each others hands and parted ways.

Xander Mackenzie drifted back to consciousness as a constant beeping nagged him awake, his short brown hair slightly tussled as he sat up in bed.

He opened his eyes and Immediately had to shield them from a harsh light coming from his dresser. Slowly he got up and walked up to it.

His eyes finally adjusted to the light, he looked at the source of light. It was his portable web surfer, a portable device that allowed him to surf the internet without the cost of a black berry or laptop. As a downside it could do little else besides saving cookies and favourite web pages.

Frowning he picked it up. Ever since he had hacked the device in an attempt to store some pictures and documents for the local Fan Digimon Contest it hadn't been working properly. It had gotten to the point where he had to reformat it, and even the it still behaved strangely.

Suddenly the device glowed brightly, causing him to shield his eyes once more until the light subsided. When he looked again at his Web Surfer it didn't look the same.

Firstly it now had a red and silver paint scheme, his favourite. It also had several more buttons and the stylus was now missing. The screen now glowed a dull red colour that would not harm his night vision.

Immediately a holographic compass sprang to life and pointed at his window. He looked out the window and spotted a small but dense patch of fog in the field and was immediately surprised to see flashes inside it.

For a reason beyond his knowing he had and incredible urge to investigate.

As quickly and quietly as he could he changed out of his pyjamas for more durable clothes and slipped out his window onto the roof, thanks full his window overlooked the backyard.

He crept to the edge of the porch roof and after checking for obstructions leapt to the ground, being sure to roll as he hit the ground to cushion the landing.

He walked onto the porch, wiped the grass off is feet and retrieved his shoes that had been left there.

After double checking the compass and that he hadn't been noticed he ran across his yard out into the field.

Almost out of breath he reached the fog and despite being right up to it all he could see inside were a pair of shapes moving about quickly.

Summoning up his courage and driven by his curiosity he stepped inside.

As he moved further into the fog the shapes became more defined. A flash happened near him and the blast caused him to stagger. 'Wait, Blast? What's going on here?"

At last he reached a clearing in the fog. Now he was able to see the shapes for what they were and it chilled him to his core. An Ogremon and another digimon were fighting each other, trading blows, neither gaining an advantage.

The other digimon wore a black wore a black cape with a high collar. He had black gloves and boots while a black fedora adorned his head. Finally he held a silver staff, much like Wizardmon's but it had an orb on the top and was pointed on the bottom.

'It can't be', he thought, 'It's the digimon I made up for the contest!' did the hacking of his web surfer have something to do with this?

Xander's thoughts were interrupted when Ogremon slammed the other into a hay bale. Ogremon drew back his arm to throw his club.

"Shields up", Xander cried!

Reacting Immediately the other digimon put his palms forward. Vertical glowing lines appeared on his cape and gloves, as though woven into them. Suddenly a blue shield appeared in front of him and the club bounced off harmlessly.

Xander sighed in relief, but felt knots form in his stomach when he saw the Ogremon glaring angrily at him.

"What's the big Idea", he growled! "That's cheating!"

Xander watched in horror as Ogremon pulled back his arm, about to use his Pummel Whack attack on him.

"**Plasma Bolt!**"

A bright orange blast hit Ogremon in the side, knocking him to the ground.

Xander looked at the other digimon, his left palm forward, lines in his glove glowing. Quickly he dashed forward and jumped into her air. He held his staff out in front of him, the bottom quarter of it glowing blue.

Ogremon looked up in horror as the caped digimon fell towards him, the business end of his staff first.

"**Light Spear!**"

Ogremon cried out as the staff pierced his body he disintegrated into data.

The unknown digimon simply stood where he was, leaning on his staff to rest for a moment.

Cautiously Xander approached him and the other digimon turned to look at the one who had saved him from Ogremon's fate.

"Who are you", he asked who he assumed was a human?

Xander gulped, "I'm Xander."

The digimon stood up strait and responded, "I am Techno Wizardmon"

"I see." Xander paused for a moment before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for someone", he replied.

"Who?"

"I don't know", he answered uneasily. "By the way I should thank you for saving me."

Xander smiled, "I should thank you for returning the favour." He looked back at his Web Surfer, "But if it hadn't been for this thing I wouldn't have known to come."

Techno Wizardmon extended his hand towards it. "What is it?"

When his hand touched the surface it started to glow a bright red colour.

When it had subsided, the two beings stared at each other.

"You're the one I've been searching for", Techno Wizardmon exclaimed! "You're my tamer!"

Xander stared in amazement at what he now classified as his digivice. "The other night I had a dream where I aided you in battle against an X-vmon.

His partner nodded, "Yes that was the day I digevolved into this form. During that battle I felt another presence, that seemed to be aiding me. From that moment I knew I had to find you."

Xander nodded understanding.

Bothe stood silent for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

"So what are we meant to do", Techno Wizardmon asked?

Xander yawned, "I think we're meant to go to sleep before my parents discover my absence."

His digimon partner didn't fully understand, but sleep sounded good so he followed his tamer back home.

* * *

So this is the first chapter of my first digimon story. I hope you like it. If you try to look up Techno Wizardmon, don't bother, I made him up. Thanks for reading.


	2. First Day

Tamers West

First Day

Alice McCoy slowly awoke to the constant droning of her digital alarm clock. Groggily she extended her arm and slapped the alarm off.

With surprising ease she slipped out of bed and put on her school clothes which consisted of Black shoes dark blue pants and a white button-up shirt.

She went to the mirror to put her blonde hair in it's traditional pigtails with a pair of blue ribbons.

After checking herself in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

Her father and grandfather were already at the table, each reading a different section of the local newspaper. Her mother and grandmother were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

Before they moved the adults had unanimously decided to live under the same roof to keep the family closer together.

"Good Morning", Alice greeted.

The two men looked up from their reading, "Good morning", they chorused.

Alice moved to the table and sat down, her mother instantly putting an omelette in front of her. Alice sighed and began eating.

"You must be exited Alice", her grandmother said as she came from the kitchen with the rest of breakfast. "Your first day at your new school."

Alice looked downcast, replying only with silence.

"Your grandfather's starting a new chapter in his life too. He starts his new job today."

Alice merely nodded in response. Truth be told she wasn't particularly thrilled about going to a new school.

At her temporary school in Japan everyone had shunned her. The girls because of her looks, they boys because she had refused them. 'Maybe that's why is was so easy to become friends with Dobermon', she thought. 'Maybe that's why it hurts so much that he's gone.'

She finished off her breakfast and left the table, "I'm going to go get ready."

Her mother watched her go sadly.

"Don't worry dear", her mother-in-law told her. "Once she makes some new friends, she'll come around."

She nodded, "I hope you're right."

A short while later Alice was waiting by the door with her school bag.

Dolphin came up to her and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Alice simply nodded in response.

Resisting the urge to sigh Dolphin opened the door for her then followed her out to the car on the driveway.

The car was a brand new wine coloured Chevrolet Malibu LTZ. Dolphin's new bosses had given it to him.

He got into the drivers seat and Alice took the seat next to him, her school bag on her lap.

Wordlessly he turned on the car, backed it out of the driveway and drove off.

Alice was thankful that on of the car's selling points was it's quiet ride, but her expression saddened as memories of her last school surfaced in her mind.

She felt the car stop and looked out her window to see a large two story building with stucco walls and large glass doors. Her new school.

"Now be sure to be open Alice and you'll make lots of new friends. There are a lot of nice people around here."

Alice nodded and got out of the car, "Thanks for the ride."

"Sure honey. Have a good day."

Alice watched him drive away, and suddenly felt very alone. She turned around, took a deep breath and marched towards the school.

Most of the activity seemed to be coming from the east side of the school where the buses dropped off their loads of children coming to school. She didn't mind, she liked the peace and quiet.

"Hi There!"

Alice was forcibly drawn out of her inner thoughts back to reality as a girl walked up to her.

"Hi there", she repeated, "I'm Elle."

Elle had short light brown hair that reached her ear lobes an vibrant green eyes. She wore a light pink T-shirt and a plaid skirt with an odd colour pattern. Finally she wore a pair of white running shoes on her feet and a warm smile on her face.

Alice resisted the strong urge to clear her throat. "I'm Alice McCoy."

Elle's smile briefly vanished as she heard Alice say her last name, and Alice noted that she looked slightly embarrassed.

"Uh, right I'm Elle Kowalchuck."

Alice realized that Elle must have felt embarrassed about not fully introducing herself.

"Uh, anyway", Elle continued, "I haven't seen you before, you must be new."

Alice sighed and nodded, "Yeah, just moved here."

Elle's expression turned serious. "Then you better stick with me, the local… undesirables like to prey on lone newbies."

Alice felt her gut clench, "Thank you."

Elle shrugged, "No biggie. Now come on or we'll be late."

Alice once again took a deep breath then followed Elle through the large glass doors.

Dolphin drove his car up to the security gates just past a sign that read "CFB Winnipeg". After a brief showing of his security ID to the guard he drove through.

He drove down several avenues before finally coming a large grey building with one sided mirrors as windows.

He took his briefcase and walked through one of the solid doors.

Immediately after going through the doors he was intercepted by a bald man slightly shorter than he and wearing a blue suite.

"Rob McCoy?"

Dolphin's fists clenched reflexively, he was getting tired of this, even Hypnos hadn't been so "In-Your-Face" as these Colonel Flagg wannabees. "Yes", he replied, trying to avoid showing any irritation in his voice.

"Follow me", the man said simply.

Somewhat reluctantly Dolphin followed the man.

They first entered a small hallway and Dolphin's "guide" swiped a card through a slot beside the door. They passed through the door and went down several flights of stairs before passing through another door into another hallway.

Finally they entered a large room filled with many cubicles and a large table at the end of the room.

"This one is yours", the man said to Dolphin.

Dolphin simply nodded in response and entered the surprisingly expansive office space, complete with a generously large desk with shelves, computer, printer/scanner and a small box filled with paper clips and tacks.

"You have several meetings today", the man continued, "The first of which is about ten minutes from now. Someone will come and get you." Without another word he left. Not soon enough for Dolphin's taste.

He sat his briefcase on the desk beside the computer monitor and plopped down in his chair. It was going to be a long day.

"Charming isn't he."

Dolphin looked up to see a man with jet black hair and hazel eyes peering over the wall of his cubicle.

"I think he went to the US Marines school of hospitality."

Dolphin grinned, "I'd believe it."

The man reached out his hand, "Eric Mackenzie"

Dolphin returned the gesture, "Rob McCoy."

Eric's eyebrows raised, "Really, my son's a big fan of your early work. Your Trojan killer program especially."

Dolphin laughed, "Gee, I didn't think anyone would remember me for that."

"Yeah, If this whole thing wasn't so secret I'd be exited to tell him we're working together. But the whole reason that's a secret in the first place is bad news.

Dolphin nodded sadly, "Unfortunately so."

Alice sat in her desk as the teacher talked on about course outlines and her expectations for the year.

She noticed many of the students glancing up at the large analog clock hanging up behind the teacher above the white boards, silently pleading for the lunch break to come sooner.

She glanced over at Elle who sat in the desk to her right. She appeared to be drawing a kind of patter of small simple shapes.

Before Alice could attempt to decipher the image the bell rang and Elle slipped it into her binder then slammed it shut.

Alice got up and followed Elle into the hallway to their locker. Since there weren't enough lockers for everyone they had to share and Elle had graciously volunteered to share with her.

When they got to their locker to retrieve their packed lunches Elle asked her a question, "do you wanna have lunch with my fiends and I?"

Alice looked at her stunned, her eyes wide with shock, "But you just met me. Are you sure your friends won't mind?"

Elle gave a small laugh, "Of course not."

Alice looked thoughtful; It would be kind of awkward, though she supposed she had nothing to loose and her family had encouraged her to try to make new friends. Elle seemed nice and if her friends were as nice as she was then everything would be fine.

Finally Alice answered, "Sure."

Elle looked delighted, "Great, follow me."

Alice almost had to run as Elle led her through some of the less crowded hallways to the west side of the school. She was relieved when Elle finally slowed down at a pair of solid doors with small Plexiglas windows.

Elle opened the doors and led her across an open space that had little grass but was instead covered in brown earth, unusual for the region she noted, and there were only a few tufts of grass here and there.

Elle led her to a cluster of trees where the grass started to grow again. A few people sat in the shade of the trees, all boys she noticed.

One sat against the tree, facing them. He had light brown hair, almost blonde and looked like he had hazel brown eyes. He addressed Elle immediately.

"Hey Berserkette, who's your friend?"

"Hello Solicitor. Everyone this is Alice McCoy. Alice this is Jeffery "Solicitor" Sheridan. She gestured to the boy further to the right with dark brown almost black hair and hazel blue eyes, "Michael "Mortar" O'Malley." Finally she turned to a boy who sat beside where she stood with brown hair and hazel green eyes, "Xander "Director" Mackenzie.

Alice nodded to each of them in greeting though was a little confused by the nicknames and they each nodded in return.

Elle sat beside Jeffery while Alice sat to her right, closer to Xander, and they all dug into their packed lunches.

Xander turned to Alice. "So, just move here?"

Alice nodded, "Last week."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "Not a lot of time to get used to a new neighbourhood."

Alice shrugged, "Seems okay."

Jeff nodded, "A nice school and no bullies. Just people who get under your skin like a bad tattoo."

Alice winced and nodded, "Thanks."

Xander looked at Elle's skirt. "Wearing your patriot skirt I see."

Elle smiled, "First day of school seemed like a special enough occasion."

Alice looked at her confused.

Elle noticed and spoke. "The pattern of my skirt is the same as the kilts worn by the Canadian Forces Pipers."

Alice was surprised, "Bagpipes?"

Elle nodded, "Yep, daddy was a piper before his lung got punctured in former Yugoslavia."

"Oh", Alice responded sympathetically.

Elle smiled at her, "Don't worry he's okay now. He's the assistant manager at a cement company."

Xander grinned, "Our Elle is quite the seamstress. She made the whole thing herself for a Home Ec project."

Jeff nodded, "Yes our Elle is going to make a good wife to some lucky guy someday", he said patting Elle's cheek with the back of his hand affectionately.

Xander smirked, "You wish you could be so lucky."

Jeff shot his friend a good natured glare.

"Boys boys please", Elle said spreading her hands between them, "I'm hardly worth fighting over."

Alice raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the girl, seeing a blush on her cheeks.

Michael laughed, "You wish they'd go that far."

Elle huffed and tossed one of her empty lunch containers at him as he laughed.

Alice couldn't stop herself from showing a tiny smile at the scene.

Elle and her friends talked about a multitude of things, most of which she couldn't begin to understand though they tried to include her in their conversations. Soon enough though the warning bell to indicate the end of the lunch break was almost upon them sounded through the air.

"Jeff stood up, "Well guess we'll see you later."

Elle nodded, "Yeah, see ya."

Elle and Alice watched the boys run across the dirt covered ground into the school almost running into the door on the way in.

Elle smiled, amused at their antics and turned to Alice, "Well we better get going."

Alice nodded and followed Elle back into the school, pleasantly running the events of the past hour through her mind.

School was now over for the day and Alice was walking out of the south entrance of the school, the same way she'd come in this morning. With school behind her both figuratively and literally her mind felt less cluttered and more clear.

She and Elle had become friends, which lifted many yet another burden from her heart and she was grateful for it.

Yet almost as soon as she and Elle had confirmed each other as friends just before they parted for the day she felt a kind of presence. Unfamiliar but she felt as though she should know who or what is was.

A car horn startled her from her thoughts and she looked up to see her grandfather I the car waving at her.

With surprising energy she ran over to him. She slid into the car, put her bag on her lap and fastened her seatbelt.

She looked at her grandfather who was smiling broadly at her. "Well you seem pretty energetic so I guess that means your day went pretty well."

Alice nodded, "How did you day go", she asked as Dolphin drove the car out of the loop and onto the street?

He sighed, "About as well as could be expected. Some of the people I'll be working with seem good though."

Not knowing what else to say Alice only nodded in response as they drove home and reflected on her day, especially about that presence."

Xander stepped out the doors and immediately moved to the edge of the wide concrete walk path on the south side of the school where most parents and carpoolers dropped off and picked up their kids.

He walked along the edge of the path before stopping near a dense cluster of trees right beside the path.

He heard a brief and quiet whoosh as the air was displaced on a limb of one of the trees. '_Hope you weren't too bored sitting on the roof all day.'_

Technowizardmon from his current hiding place in the tree replied. '_Not really, I was able to keep myself entertained.'_

Xander nodded. The daybreak following their eventful meeting they had developed a telepathic link. The boundaries of which they had yet to discover having only experimented with short distances. _'Sorry you have to stay up there, but with all the digimon I thought it best to keep you close.'_

Since they met they had dispatched two other digimon and Xander didn't foresee them stopping their appearances anytime soon.

_'I understand the reasons_', The digimon replied, '_It doesn't bother me.'_

_'Well once everyone settles into their school routines you should be able to explore the school grounds at least.'_

Though he wasn't looking at his partner for fear of drawing the attention of people who would wonder what he was looking at, her could sense him nodding.

_'There's something I should probably mention.'_

_'What is it', _Xander asked in a worried tone?

_'Just after the last bell rang I sensed something, a presence of some kind, I think it sensed me too.'_

_'A digimon', _his tamer asked, his worried tone replaced with one of professional concern?

'_I don't think so', _his digimon replied thoughtfully, _' think it was one of the students.'_

Xanders eyes widened in alarm, _'a digimon disguised as a student?'_

_'No I'm pretty sure it was human.'_

Xander took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. _'Is there a way you can find out who it is?'_

_'Yes the sense will become stronger the closer I-or through our telepathic link you are to him or her.'_

Xander nodded, '_Then tomorrow we try and find our who it is. Now let's go home.'_ Xander started walking and Technowizardmon teleported to a pre determined location along the route home.

* * *

This chapter done and next chapter coming soon. Stay tuned.


	3. Call of Duty

Tamers West

Call of Duty

Alice sat a the dinner table awaiting dinner to be served. The enticing smell of Italian food only feeding her hunger further.

Finally her mother and grandmother came in with the fresh lasagne and garlic bread.

As they dug into the meal her grandmother asked, "Did you make any new friends today Alice?"

Alice looked up at her for a moment then nodded.

"So tell us about them!"

Sighing Alice put down her fork deciding to entertain her grandmother's curiosity. "There's Elle, she's nice, but kind of", she searched for the right word, "different."

Her grandmother looked at her curiously, "How so?"

Alice shrugged, "She talks a lot about things that boys talk about all the time, like video games and stuff like that."

"So she's a tomboy", her father asked?

Alice shook her head, "I don't know to many tomboys who wear skirts."

This caused a few grins to surface on the faces of many at the table.

"Anyone else", her grandmother continued?

Alice sighed, "Well Elle's friends with a few boys and they're who she mostly hangs out with from what I can tell.

"I see. Are they nice boys?"

Alice shrugged, "They seem okay."

Her father looked at her grandmother, "Mom, she's only twelve."

His mother looked at him, "It starts earlier for girls than it does for boys dear."

Having polished off her first piece of lasagne she helped herself to more as the adults went on about the early stages of puberty.

Xander quietly walked up the stairs to his room carrying leftover meatloaf from dinner.

He opened the door to his room to see his partner sitting on the edge of his bed reading a book, 'The Italian Campaign'.

"Good read isn't it", Xander said as he closed and locked the door behind him. "Brought you some dinner."

"I appreciate it", Technowizardmon said as he put the open book on the bed beside him and accepted the plate Xander handed him.

The human walked over and peered down at the open page his partner had been reading. "The invasion of Sicily."

Technowizardmon nodded, "It amazes me that in that single human conflict more lives were lost then were taken by the D-Reaper."

Xander smiled grimly, "Doesn't surprise me, and that's only the second world war. There's still another three or four thousand years you still haven't looked at."

His partner sighed, "I thought digimon were the only ones who destroyed one another over such meaningless things."

Xander fixed him with a sad sympathetic look. "What are digimon but an echo of humanity."

Technowizardmon looked back at him. "Another of the universes frightening truths."

The human nodded and looked out the window, "Indeed."

He turned back to his partner, "But that doesn't apply to everyone. There has always been and always will be those who stand out, those who make a difference."

Technowizardmon looked at him curiously, "like us?"

His tamer smiled and looked back out the window into the light of the moon. "Yeah, just like us."

Jeffery Sheridan gritted his teeth, rapidly moved the game controller's analog sticks as he fought off two online opponents.

He tossed a grenade between them, forcing them to separate in opposite directions.

He moved left and back putting himself behind a building, giving him cover from one opponent and giving him a clear line of fire to the other. He pulled the firing trigger, sending computer generated ammunition into his opponents head.

The second approached him along the adjacent wall, and he was prepared. Jeff threw a grenade just at the corner and moved back out of the blast radius then shifted to a crouched position.

His opponent turned the corner and opened fire.

Jeff fired back but his opponent crouched screwing up his aim to the head. Jeff pulled the same trick but in reverse.

His opponent took two hits before retreating behind the wall. All this happened in under two seconds.

Jeff cursed under his breath as the grenade exploded with his opponent still behind cover.

Before he could formulate a strategy him opponent burst from cover and hurled a grenade at him.

Jeff finished him off with a quick head shot as the grenade sailed through the air and exploded above him. He gave a crooked smile, his opponent had miscalculated.

Suddenly he came under fire and immediately ran behind cover.

'Where is he', Jeff wondered. Suddenly he saw movement near the building entrance and he fired at it. Seeing no kill message on his screen he gritted his teeth.

He moved to one of the windows and aimed his gun inside. A flash of movement and he fired again. Suddenly a grenade bounced off the doorframe and right at him.

He moved to the left and crouched but the grenade exploded in mid-air, causing him serious damage.

Growling in frustration he moved back to the window and emptied an entire clip into the room, hoping one of his bullets would penetrate the wall and hit his opponent on the other side.

As he exchanged clips his previously unseen opponent jumped at him. Jeff was so shocked by his appearance he didn't notice the glow or vibration emanating from his pocket.

The digital entity passed through the tv screen and crashed into him, sending both of them to the ground, just as the match ended.

Jeff groaned as the pressure on him was released.

"Yeah, what a fight!"

Jeff sat up and looked in astonishment at his, "guest."

He looked like a small bipedal dinosaur with a blue grey and green pixel camouflage pattern on his skin. With a similar all green pattern on his helmet.

He also wore a green vest and backpack with armour covering the first half of his tail. Over his face a black head mask with eyeholes covered everything behind his rectangular snout.

He had mechanical legs that were a sea-green colour with three sharp toes protruding from them. On his clawed three-fingered hands which held a C-7 or an M-16 assault rifle, were a pair of faded black gauntlets.

At last Jeff recovered his ability to speak. "Who are you?"

The part mechanical dino turned smartly and saluted him, "Commandramon at your service."

Jeff fixed the cyborg a strange look. Then it dawned on him, "Are you a digimon?"

Commandramon nodded, "Yep and judging by my surroundings and you, I must be in the real world."

Jeff couldn't believe it. He and his friends had watched the tv show, even played the card game sometimes. When they found out earlier this year about real digimon appearing in Japan and then this red blob thing called the D-Reaper appeared all over the world, including in Winnipeg. To see a real digimon right in his bedroom was shocking to say the least.

"What are you doing here?"

Commandramon met his gaze, "Before I answer that could I ask why your pants are glowing?"

Jeff looked down and saw a light coming from his left pants pocket. Cautiously he reached inside and took out his I-pod. The light however was so intense that both of the rooms occupants had to shield their eyes.

A beam of light burst from the screen and hit Commandramon in the chest, covering him in an aura of blue light.

When the light subsided Jeff looked at his I-pod and gasped. Except for the scroll wheel his I-pod was now entirely covered in the same pixel camo scheme as Commandramon's helmet. The I-pod itself also felt more robust."

Jeff was shocked beyond words when the screen glowed and a sea-green holographic display appeared.

Commandramon walked up to him, "Does this mean we're partners?"

His voice snapped Jeff from his state of shock, "I guess so."

Commandramon clapped his tame on the shoulder. "That's great. You and I up against hordes of rogue digimon. Bringing them down one by one, together. Listen, do you hear that? That's the Call of Duty."

Jeff gave a crooked grin, "That's because I haven't turned the game off yet." Jeff went back towards the tv and retrieved his controller, relieved that it hadn't been damaged.

Commandramon sat beside him as Jeff checked his online stats.

"How's you get here", Jeff asked?

His new partner sighed, "Well my squad was sent to hunt down a few rogue digimon. But we were ambushed by a hole horde of em. We had to retreat using a data stream, but we got separated. Next thing I know, bullets and grenades are flying through the air. You know the rest."

Jeff turned off the tv and console then set down his controller. "If I knew a way you could go back and find them I'd tell you, but I don't."

The digimon nodded, "I know, but it's okay. I have another purpose now, fighting with you."

Jeff shook his hand, "I'll be sure you make the most of it." Jeff surprised him self at the amount of enthusiasm he was showing, and it scared him.

* * *

I know it's short but hey, not bad for the day after the last update. If you want to see a picture of commandramon paste this into your browser /Commandramon see if I got the description right.


	4. Trust your Feelings

Tamers West

Chapter 4: Trust your Feelings.

The sun rose over the flat prairie horizon and cast it's warm glow over the land.

Eric Mackenzie awoke to the sun shining in his eyes through his bedroom window. Slowly he sat up in bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

He turned to the soft sound of breathing on his left.

His wife Maria lay on her side facing him. Her light brown hair shining beautifully in the morning light, the bed sheets resting just below her shoulders.

With deliberate slowness he eased out of bed, so as not to wake her.

He walked over to the master bedroom's bathroom to wash up , making sure to close the door quietly.

Maria Mackenzie got our of bed and put on her house coat. The sounds coming form the bathroom stopped and her husband came out just as she was tying the housecoat around her.

"Oh, did I wake you?"

Maria smiled and shook her head. "No, I just felt like waking up a little earlier that's all. You finish getting ready, I'm going to make breakfast."

Her husband shrugged and went back into the bathroom.

Maria walked out of her bedroom and into the main hallway on the main floor of her two story home. As she passed by the upstairs stairway she spotted Xander, still in his pyjamas on his way to the bathroom.

She sighed as she walked on and began to think about how much her son had grown up. He had his fathers hair and her eyes, a wonderful combination.

As she entered the kitchen she looked over at a picture of her in the hospital holding a newborn Xander, over twelve years ago.

She remembered the day when she'd been told that she might not be able to bear children. She had been devastated and had locked herself in her room for a whole day, crying.

She and Eric had been dating for about four years at that time and they both dreamed of raising a family together.

Telling him what she had just learned had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.

Then he had shocked her when he proposed to her right then and there. He said he loved her too much for it to matter to him, and that they would have a child regardless of what the doctor said.

She wholeheartedly accepted and within seven months they were married and on their way to a wonderful honeymoon. That had been one of the best days of her life.

She brought out bowls of ingredients as she thought about the events of their honeymoon, causing a blush to stain her cheeks.

She began mixing the ingredients as she remembered another wonderful day.

During their honeymoon they had prayed every night for a child, they both wanted one so badly. A month afterwards she had been feeling ill, so she went to see a doctor and after some tests the doctor told her she was pregnant.

She was so happy that she sang all the way home and smiled for the rest of the day. Immediately after she got home she had begun flipping through catalogues for baby items and supplies before Eric even came home.

When she told him the wonderful news his eyes lit up like never before, and to celebrate they went out for dinner to a fancy restaurant.

As she poured the batter into the waffle Iron she thought about the most pleasant parts of her pregnancy. Overall her pregnancy was a pleasant experience, her morning sickness lasted only a few weeks and she hadn't woken up in the middle of the night with cravings very often, though it made her very ravenous during the day though, but she never heard Eric complain.

The had both been brought to tears when they first felt the baby kicking in her womb, and it was that day that she first felt that it was a boy.

"Making Waffles?"

Maria turned to see her son, her "miracle baby" standing in the kitchen entranceway.

"Yes they'll be ready in a minute. Go see what's taking your father so long."

Xander shrugged and went off on his appointed task.

As Maria prepared the next batch of waffles she thought back to Xander's birth. She and Eric had been so happy. When the nurse gave him to her and she held her baby, the thing she wanted more than anything else, they thing she and her husband had endlessly prayed for and over was at last in her arms, looking up at her with eyes of innocent childish wonder.

She stacked the waffles on a serving plate just as her family entered.

"Where were you", she asked her husband?

"Well-uh."

Xander smirked, "Dad had trouble finding his briefcase."

Maria shook her had disapprovingly, "Why didn't you put it in your office?"

Eric shrugged, "I forgot."

Maria sighed in exasperation but dropped the issue, at least for now.

It didn't take long for them to finish their breakfast and by the time her boys had to leave she was finished washing the dishes.

"Well I'm leaving."

Smiling Maria went over to her husband and they shared a brief but passionate kiss.

"I'll call later", he told her.

Maria nodded, "I'll be here."

As she watched her husband pull out of the driveway, Xander come down the stairs with is school bad looped over his shoulder.

"Do you have everything, "She asked him?"

He nodded and gave his mother a hug, "Yep."

Maria kissed his forehead, All right sweetie, have a good day."

"I will", Xander said as he bolted out the door and down the street.

Maria smiled as she watched him go, then closed the door and resumed her normal morning routine.

Xander reached the school grounds and Immediately began scanning the area for the largest group of kids.

Technowizardmon fazed into a tree nearby, _'I can't sense it. We might want to look on the other side of the school.'_

Xander nodded, _'Let's check.'_

After yesterday they decided they had to find out who or what this presence was, especially if it was a threat.

For the next half hour they looked around the school grounds but to no avail.

Xander sighed, _'Maybe their late.'_

Technowizardmon suddenly tensed, '_Or they're right on time_.'

The sound of the warning bell echoed through the air, telling them that time had run out for now.

Xander grunted in frustration, _Try to pinpoint where it's coming from. We'll continue the search later.'_

Technowizardmon watched his partner run into the school and sighed, this was going to be harder than they originally thought.

Xander had just finished his school work and was watching the clock, wiling it to bypass the few remaining seconds till the lunch break, but was failing miserably. He looked over at Jeff who had curiously been drifting in and out of focus all morning.

The lunch bell interrupted his mental inquiry however and he focused back on his original task of the morning.

He followed Michael and Jeff out to their lockers in the hallway.

Their usual routine was broken when someone bumped into Jeff at his locker.

"Oh sorry", they both said at once.

Jeff blinked as he looked at who he had bumped into. He had blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing a black T-shirt and dark green denim pants.

"You new around here", Jeff asked him?

The other cleared his throat, "Yes I came to live here from Steinbach."

Xander smirked, he should have known from the slight Germanic accent.

Steinbach was a city that was a little over half an hours drive south-east of Winnipeg. It had originally been settled by German Mennonites and had been a hotspot for German speaking immigrants ever since. There was also a substantial French speaking population in the Steinbach area as well.

"So what's your name?"

He sighed, "I'm Hanse Offenbach."

Jeff nodded, "You like it here?"

Hanse shrugged, "Still making up my mind."

Michael laughed, "Take all the time you need, this city isn't going anywhere soon."

Hanse managed a grin but didn't comment. "I have to go, nice meeting you"' he said as he ran off into the crowded hallway.

"Uh, yeah", Jeff managed to say. He and the other two boys went back to retrieving their lunches. "Nice guy", he said as they closed their lockers.

Michael smirked, "Yes very nice."

Jeff rolled his eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter Mike", he said irritated.

Mike grinned broadly, "Don't worry Jeff, we know you only have eyes for Elle."

Immediately after finishing his sentence he spun around and ran the opposite direction with Jeff hot on his heels.

Xander laughed at the scene and began walking to their usual meeting place.

'_I've narrowed down their location'_, his partner announced through their link.

Xander suddenly became alert, '_where?'_

_'The west side', _he replied.

Xander quickened his pace and exited out of the west side doors. He scanned the area but the only people he saw were Elle and Alice sitting in their usual meeting spot.

Cautiously he approached the two girls wondering if one of them was who he was looking for.

Elle acknowledged him first, "Hey Xander." She looked around, "Where are the other two?"

Xander smirked, "They'll be around once one of them run's out of breath."

Elle rolled her eyes. "What was it about this time?"

Xander grinned, "You."

Elle's eyes widened in shock and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She craped her composure back together and managed to look upset. "What about me?"

Xander crossed his arms and smiled broadly. "Why so curious Elle?"

Elle's face flustered, "Just tell me", she shouted angrily!"

"Tell you what?"

Elle was stunned for a moment as Jeff and Mike walked up to them, both looking a little roughed up.

Ell cleared her throat and tugged on her bangs. "Nothing", she replied embarrassed.

Curious Jeff looked at Xander.

He shrugged, "She wanted to know what you guys were spatting about."

Jeff grunted, "Nothing important", he said dismissively.

"Oh", Elle said quietly. She sounded disappointed.

Elle looked up and suddenly every indication of sadness was blown away by an expression of great joy.

"Ciel", she cried as she leapt to her feet and ran towards someone approaching and trapped them in a hug.

Everyone turned to see a girl about the same height as Elle with sky blue hair and matching eyes, hence her name which was a French name meaning "Heavens", or more precisely, "Sky."

She was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and snug black shorts. A pair of black low heeled boots adorned her small feet.

'Probably got them in Paris', he thought.

"I'm assuming this is the spot."

Every turned their attention to a guy standing behind Ciel with medium brown hair and piercing brown eyes wearing a light blue shirt and black pants.

Ciel smiled, "Mes amis, this is Richard Bishop, we met during my vacation while I was visiting Juno Beach."

Mike whistled, "You must like her a lot to follow her all they way out here."

Ciel crossed her arms, "He used to live in St Andrews just north of the city. His family moved here over the summer so his dad wouldn't have to commute so far to work." She shrugged, "It was just a coincidence that we met in France."

Ciel looked and noticed Alice sitting on the ground. "Who's this."

Elle smiled, "This is Alice McCoy, she's new here too. Alice this is Ciel Dunkirk."

Alice nodded, "Hi."

Ciel nodded back, "Hello."

Elle sat down on Alice's right and Ciel sat on Elle's right. Richard sat across from them, beside Jeffery.

Ciel and Elle immediately entered a lively conversation as everyone began eating their lunch.

_'Were you able to tell who it was'_, he asked his partner?

_'It kept fading in and out after you arrived and they were too close together to tell before, but after Elle got up I was able to determine almost certainly that it is Alice.'_

Xander bit into his sandwich, _'I see.'_ He looked at Alice who was eating her sandwich, her blue eyes seemed distant, even sad to him. He noticed a speck on her cheek.

"Alice."

Alice looked up at him and he carefully moved his hand to her cheek. His fingers lightly touched her soft skin and he saw her pupils shrink. Carefully he flicked the back speck off with the back of his fingers, Alive wincing in reflex.

"Wood tick", he told her.

Alice's eyes bulged and her hand immediately went to her cheek.

The other girls cringed. "I hate ticks", Ciel whined.

"Everybody hates ticks", Mike told her.

"Yeah but", she shuddered, "Icky."

It didn't take long for conversations to start again. They learned more about Richard and Ciel's vacation is France and about Richard personally including his passion for aircraft. The result was a long conversation between him and Xander about the history of various aircraft.

Before anyone knew it the warning bell rang, indicating that their short lunch break was over.

Richard and everyone else stood up, "I'm in your class I believe", he told Xander.

Xander nodded, "Yeah let's go."

As the boys left Ciel turned to Elle, "I'm in your class."

Elle's eyes widened, "But how come I never saw you? And the teacher never called your name on the role call?"

Ciel sighed, "I wasn't here yesterday and I spent all morning trying to see the school councillor about my schedule."

Elle sighed, "There's always one." She looked back at Alice, "Let's go then."

Elle anxiously watched the last minutes of the school day tick away on the large analog clock on the wall.

Sighing she followed the old saying that a watched pot never boils and looked to her left.

She saw Alice deep in thought, her chin resting on her hand supported by her elbow while absentmindedly gingerly rubbing her left cheek.

She looked to her right at Ciel who had also noticed Alice and as they locked eyes a grin appeared on both their faces.

Elle leaned towards her, "we won't bug her about it now, we'll wait till tomorrow."

Ciel nodded and they both looked back at Alice who was still rubbing her cheek with dreamy eyes.

The bell that indicated the end of the school day was charged with meaning for Xander Mackenzie as he quickly got out of his classroom, went to his locker and exited through the south doors.

Same as yesterday he walked up to the tree next to the walk where his partner was hiding.

_'Do you have a plan',_ Technowizardmon asked?

_'Yes'_, he answered. _'When she comes out I'll walk up behind her. If I get close enough will you be able to tell for sure?'_

_'Yes, and considering how few people are here you shouldn't have to get to close.'_

Xander saw the doors open and Alice step out her books held in front of her against her chest. Her blonde hair still as neat as it had been at lunch and her beautiful blue eyes no longer looked sad but unfocused,pools of undisturbed water.

_'She appears unfocused'_, the digimon observed.

Xander blinked, _'uh, yeah well that just makes my job easier.'_

Taking a deep breath he strode off, not directly at Alice he simply started to drift in towards her, making sure to keep back so she wouldn't see him in her peripheral vision.

Through the telepathic link he could feel his partner concentrating hard.

Xander drifted in to about a meter behind her when his partner's voice echoed through his mind. _'It's her.'_

Suddenly a car horn blasted through the air, startling everyone including Xander and Alice.

Alice quickly took off towards the source of the noise, dropping a piece of paper that she was carrying.

Xander quickly picked up the paper and ran after her. "Alice", he yelled!

Alice stopped just as she reached the car and slowly turned to face him as he ran up to her.

He held out the paper to her, "You dropped this."

Alice's face flushed from embarrassment and she tenderly accepted the paper from him.

"Thank you."

He nodded then noticed the car just behind her. He leaned over and opened the door for her.

Alice was so shocked by this gentlemanly act that she couldn't find her voice to say thank you. She opened he mouth but no sounds emerged.

"Your welcome", he stated simply.

Alice managed a nod and slid into the passenger seat.

"You're quite the chivalrous type aren't you", a voice said as he closed the door.

He leaned in the open window, "Yeah well I was forced to take an etiquette class so I-. He stopped mid sentence as he recognized whom he was talking to. "Robert McCoy", he wheezed.

The spectacled adult smiled, "You've heard of me?"

Xander's eyes bulged, "You kidding, I still have a version of your Trojan Killer program on my computer and you invented the New Millennium user interface program for network computers."

Dolphin chuckled, "That was a long time ago."

Xander extended his hand, "Xander Mackenzie."

Dolphin's eyes flashed in realization, this was Eric's son.

"So are you one of my granddaughters classmates?"

Xander's pupils shrunk, "You're a grandfather?"

Dolphin laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Xander locked eyes with Alice, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Alice looked cornered, "Well I."

"What other secrets are you hiding?", he asked leaning in closer, causing Alice to blush slightly.

Dolphin burst out laughing from the scene, attracting the attention of both youth.

Instantly Xander remembered, _'he also created digimon! And he was in Japan when that blob thing showed up! He could help up!'_

Technowizardmon was surprised, _'I thought you wanted everything to be kept secret?'_

_'I do but he created digimon and he knows the tamers in Japan, he should be able to help us somehow.'_

_'Alright, I trust you.'_

_'Thanks'._

Dolphin had finished laughing by now and looked at the two. "I see, you two must be friends."

Xander smiled nervously, "Yes well since Alice has had one of her secrets revealed I think it's only fair that I reveal one of mine."

Dolphin raised a curious eyebrow at the young boy as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Black Berry like device. "What's that?"

Xander sighed, "This used to be my web surfer."

"Used to be?"

Xander nodded, "It changed after I met my partner", he said, stressing the last word.

Dolphin thought for a moment, searching for an obvious hidden meaning to the last word, when it struck him. "Tamer", he breathed?

Xander nodded, "I was hoping you might be able to help us."

Alice was also shocked and stared at him with amazement, and a hint of envy.

Dolphin quickly grabbed a pen and paper and began writing on it quickly. "My address", he told Xande as he handed him the paper. "Come at about six-thirty."

Xander nodded, "I'll be there." He stepped away from the car and watched it drive out of the loop, make a left turn and vanish.

He looked down at the paper, _'Well it's a start.'_

_'I suppose',_ his partner commented, he sounded unsure.

Xander sighed, _'let's go home._'

Despite the peacefulness of the atmosphere around him, Xander's mind was filled with conflict. Did he do the right thing? Would he regret this? Thos thoughts continued to plague him the whole way home.

* * *

Okay so something interseting happens at last. I know that it seems like I put a lot of useless stuff in this chapter but I wanted to add some character depth. This is the longest chapter so far so something's happening. Upload chapter 5 as soon as I can.


	5. Dark Night

**I've revised this chapter and split it into two. Chapter 6 is the second part and that has had things added to it as well.**

* * *

Tamers West

Chapter 5: Dark Night

Alice sat at the dinner table, her mind a hurricane of thoughts and feelings, that distracted her from the bountiful meal within arms reach. If one were to look from the dinning room window she would seem to be acting fairly normal, however everyone who was present at the table could see the distant and unfocused look in her eyes.

"Alice", she heard her mother call, and in response she looked up at her.

"Eat your food before it gets cold."

The younger blonde simply nodded and diverted more brain power to her feasting. Her mind was no more at ease however and seemed only to become worse the more she thought about it.

Xander, a boy she hardly new but was quickly becoming more aquainted with through Elle was a Tamer.

One the one hand she was relieved; she knew why her grandfather had come here and having a Tamer in the area who would actually have the power to properly respond to digital threats was a great comfort.

However she could not shake the overwhelming feeling of jealousy. Despite her realationship with Dobermon she had not been a Tamer and had lost a dear friend. She knew more tamers would start appearing soon and she found herself in a deep pool of bitterness as the cruel realization weighed on her that she would not be among them.

"I'm done", she said as she stood up and left her empty plate behind as she walked up the stairs to her room on the second floor.

Turning on the light as she entered and shutting the door behind her she treaded carefully accross the room to her bed. Her inviting mattresse's soft covers and the large pillow at the head did nothing to settle her sick mood.

Trying to refocus her mind she looked around her bedroom. The floor was a mess with most of her belongings still in boxes all over the floor rather than in the neat piles she would have had them in if not for her foul mood the week following their move.

A desk with only a desk lamp and a small box filled with various office supplies and trinkets occupied the space by the window facing the adjacent wall so to allow her to see out into the street.

Once again braving the obstacle course of her bedroom floor Alice walked towards the window and peered out at the neighbourhood. She lived in Transcona, Winnipeg's east most suburb, most of which consisted of small businesses and homes. All the homes on her street were two stories tall that were on plots of land noticably higher then the street creating sloped driveways and tall rounded curbs all very new and very expensive homes.

Sighing she looked back onto her room and despite feeling no better than she had at dinner she decided to begin sorting through the boxes.

Ciel was grateful to be at last leaving school and wasted no time getting into her mother's Blue MINI.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long", the older woman said to her daughter.

The blue haired tween shook her head, "No, I was watching Elle and her fencing class."

Her mother smiled, displaying no wrinkles on her youthful features. "How interesting."

Ciel nodded, then the car's interior became very quiet with only the usual road noise and the sound of the peppy four cylinder engine piercing the silence.

She looked out the window at the city as they passed through on the scenic route home, fortunate to see one of the city's famous murals painted on a building as they drove through St. Boniface, the city's french sector.

Looking ahead they approached the Provenchier bridge and the sperate walkway left of it. Just beyond that were 'The Forks', the city's cultural hub which consisted of several buildings such as the Johnston Terminal, and were filled with unique shops and vendors built at the place where the Assinaboine and north flowing Red rivers met, hense the name.

They continued onwards towards downtown, passing the baseball stadium on their right before they came into veiw of the great Fort Gary Hotel. A very tall old building built like an old château with statues and an old green roof, it's majesty was suffocated by the bland concrete towers around it. One of those buildings carried the revolving restaurant on it's roof, a massive circular structure containing a resaraunt that performed a complete rotation every seventy minutes or so.

She was about to ask why they had ventured so far from home, or into downtown at all until her mother stopped the car in front of the hotel. "I just have to rush in and give these papers to a collegue of mine, I'll be right back."

Ciel sighed as she watched her mother ascend the sairs and through the brass framed glass doors. Her mother spent very little time with her besides shopping becuase of her busy schedule as an agent for many local, out of province, or even out of country models.

Looking up through the sunroof she gazed upwards at the majestic building, it's elegant stone structure and statues could be seen even from such an awkward angle. Sometimes she felt like that very building. So many told her of her beauty, of her heritage; of which her father was of French nobility and her mother french aristocracy. However the cruel dulls of her life such as her father spoiling her rotten or the lack of a relationship with her mother were not unlike the grey buildings around her, smothering any beauty around them because they covered the beauty rather than making it stand out.

The famous haunted rooms of the hotel were like the dark thoughts that plagued her very soul and only barely kept in check by the friendship she had with her friends.

Ciel looked and felt relieved when her mother came back outside and entered the car.

Despite that relief however it was blown away with feelings of neglect as her mother made no attempts at conversation and simply drove the car away. As they at last went home Ciel looked back at the Hotel as it was rapidly swallowed up by the cold grey buildings that surrounded it.

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Alice had worked through some of the boxes already, mostly clothing with a few special articles. She frowned as she pulled out the gothic lolita outfit she had worn on that fateful day when her best friend had died.

She hadn't had many friends before that. Partly because she was a 'daddy's girl' as many of the girls at her school had called her. She was well behaved, well mannered and had a clear definition of right and wrong and was obedient to her parents, hense the less than flattering nickname. All this was part of her very individualistic attitude that was the other source of her loneliness at schools.

As she carefully walked to her closet to hang the outfit up she pondered why it had been so easy to make friends here. Elle had actually approached her and had been the first to initiate their friendship. Alice was by no means upset about this but she found it odd considering how people had acted towards her at her other schools.

A frown came over her delicate face as memories of the hushed conversations she had heard at school the past few days. From what she had heard Elle and her friends were not the most popular kids at school for whatever reason. True the boys talked endlessly about video games and such but that was normal. Elle did as well but not quite to the same extent, though far more than most girls. 'That might be why', she thought. But she didn't know why the boys might be considered unpopular, and if she didn't know them well enough to know that, then could she really be their friend?

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Ciel polished off the last of her dinner and placed her napkin on the table. "All done", she declared.

Her mother looked up from her own empty plate. "All right dear. Sorry but we're going to have to go out for desert tonight since Megan is ill.

Ciel looked down; Megan was the nurse who had helped look after her and the house whenever her parents were out of town. The middleaged woman now served as a maid o help keep the house and make meals as well. Fortunately her mother knew how to cook.

Looking up the blue haired maiden shook her head. "That's okay", she said cheerfully, "I think I'll skip dessert tonight."

Her mother smiled, "Yes I suppose you're at the age now where you have to watch your weight."

Her father nodded, "That's right, gain to much and you won't win the dance competition this year.

"But you can't eat to little either, otherwise you won't think properly or make honor role."

Ciel's smile never faultered. "Don't worry I'll be careful."

Her parents left the table and proceeded to the doorway. "Will you be alright by yourself", her father asked?

She nodded, "I'll be fine."

"Alright", her mother said. "Goodbye our perfect little girl."

"Bye", she replied as they went out the door.

With the closing of the door she had the whole house to herself. As she brought the filthy dishes from dinner into the kitchen thought entered her mind. Most kids or youth would use this opportunity to do something normally unpermitted like watching an adult movie or raiding the pantry and eating some cookies. Not her though, she was a good girl.

_'Our perfect little girl.'_

Finished her chore she decided to head up to her room.

_'You have to watch your weight.'_

She ascended the red carpet stairs agianst the woodgrain wall adorned with various pictures and awards, some of them her own.

_'Gain to much and you won't win the dance competition.'_

Ciel reached the top of the stairs and walked to her room.

'_Eat to little and you won't make honor roll.'_

She locked the door behind her, a habit.

_'Our perfect little girl.'_

Ciel plopped down onto her bed, buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.

_'Our perfect littl girl.'_

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Xander put on his black hat which had the picture of a Supermarin Spitfire with the word "Spitfire" in flaming letters beneath it.

"Mom", he called, "I'm going out."

"Alright honey", she called back, "Don't be out to late."

"I won't", he yelled back.

After he had reached the sidewalk and began to walk towards the McCoy home he reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.

'_What are those_', Technowizardmon asked?

'_My deck of digimon cards', I don't play the game very often so I don't have many_.'

_'Why not'_, his partner asked.

Xander shrugged, _'Not a lot of people around her play the game yet. Starting to catch on though_', he added.

The truth was that few people did play the game. Digimon was initially viewed as a passing fad and gimmick common among toy manufacturers, like Furby's. However they only seemed to be getting more popular as even teenagers became interested as an alternative to chess or checkers to pass the time during class confinements like lockdowns or work classes.

Xander and the rest of the 'Stratega' club, consisting of Jeff, Mike, Elle, Ciel and himself became intersted in the game for the amount of strategy employed in the game.

He frowned as he flipped through his meek collection of cards. _'Guess now that I'm a tamer I have to get some more.'_

_'Probably a good idea, though you've nver used them before.'_

_'I never had them on me during a battle before', he argued._

When he had become a tamer he searched the intenet for information about the tamers in Japan, their strategies and the techniques they employed. Obviously what little information there was had been very vague. All he had found out was that they had a digimon partner, a digivice, and they had been observed to use their cards to augment their digimon in battle.

Xander sighed defeated. _'I know it's no excuse, but this thing doesn't even come with any slot to swipe the cards', _he said angrily as he pulled out his digivice.

Technowizardmon teleported beside his tamer and matched his pace. "Perhaps there is another way to do it."

The tamer looked back at him. "Maybe that's something Mr. McCoy can help us with." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the piece of paper that Dolphin had given him and checked the address again. "We've still got a ways to go."

"I am in no hurry", the digimon replied.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ciel had finally stopped crying and was now on her balcony overlooking her backyard. Her house was almost a mansion with three stories and a balcony fore every bedroom. Below her was the main floor which contained most of the family parts of the home such as the kitchen, living room, dining room, recreation room, and even a gallery where her mother would host gatherings both personal and business.

There was a large deck right beneath her and just beyond that was the large inground pool surrounded by a stone walkway.

On the west side of the house was the four car garage where the family's vehicles were kept. Her father spent much of his free time there working on his poject car, much to her mothers disapproval.

She looked further out onto the city's northern urban sprawl. So different from the sight of the few downtown towers Winnipeg's skyline had to offer. The moon did little to stifle the mundane appearence of the bland cityscape. The city's new slogan was "Heart of the Continent", if that was true than it was a cancerous one. If New York was a concrete jungle than Winnipeg was a concrete slab, filled with ugly cracks that were themselves filled with the filth of some of the highest murder and theft rates in the country. So common were murders on the news that people took little notice.

Culture was the city's only appeal, the centre of which was The Forks and just beyond it the train station, and old but charming building, much like the Fort Gary Hotel.

Ciel actually smiled as she thought about the 'Golden Boy', a large statue covered in real gold that stood proudly atop the Legislature building. The torch it carried always glowed brightly despite the light pollution in the area.

She frowned as she remembered when they had taken thestatue down for repairs and it had been on display in the museum. It had lost it's golden skin and undeneath was an ugly mix of browns greens and rusty reds.

Not unlike her. Beautiful and seemingly perfect on the outisied, her paretns 'Golden Girl'. But underneath was the cruel reality of the uglyness that golden shell mearly covered up and the stress of it all was causing her to slowly rust away.

Ciel was once again brought to tears and began to cry again. A horrible cycle and nightmare that she felt would never end.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Xander and Technowizardmon stood in front of a house, it's address matching the one on the paper the tamer held in his hand.

The house was typical of the city's new devleopments of more upscale homes. It was a light brown stucco two story home with a room on top of an attatched two car garage with a wide cement driveway and a red shingled roof.

"This looks like the place", Xander said.

His partner nodded, "I'll be on the roof until you call for me."

Xander looked up at the digimon as he floated up to the roof. "I get the feeling you're opposed to this whole thing."

_'It's not that',_he responded. _'It's just a little uncomfortable meeting one of those responsible for the creation of all digimon.'_

Xander nodded sympathetically. _'I understand Tech, but I'm going to make something clear. He didn't create you, you are a manifestation of the part of myself that I put into creating those drawings and the written information you were created from which was after the digital world was created. You are a part of me and deserve the same rights as me, nothing less.'_

Technowizardmon stood proudly on the roof and nodded. _'I know that Xander. Thank you.'_

Xander shrugged, '_What are partners and friends for?'_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Alice sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest thinking about what she would do when Xander got here. She heard the door bell ring and frantically tried to get downstairs to answere the door before her mother or grandmother fearing embarrassment. She reached the bottom of the stairs when she heard the door click open. 'Too late.'

"Hello there", she heard her grandmother greet.

"Hi", she heard Xander respond. "I'm Alice's friend."

Alice fought down a wave of embarassment. The way he said that made it seem as though he were here to see her.

"Well?"

She noticed her mother standing behind her with an expectant look on her face. "He's here to see grandpa not me", she began to say. Her mother however had heard enough and pushed her out into view.

Xander noticed her and she suddenly felt embarassed. He undoubtedly saw her getting pushed out, or the result of her mothers push, it made it look like she was hiding, which she supposed she had been.

"Hi Alice", he greeted.

Alice swallowed and tried to look as normal as possible. "Hi, you're here to see grandpa?"

"Yeah."

"He's up in his office."

As Xander followed her up the stairs Alice mulled over her situation. True she wasn't a tamer nor had she ever been, but she had been a part of taking down the D-Reaper and she wanted to know what was going on here too. Maybe she couldn't help him and the others that would eventually come fight digimon, but maybe she could help them some other way. That's what Dobermon would have wanted her to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dolphin was in his office making sure no programs that wouldn't be for his newly arrived guests viewing due to the restrictions the Digital Response Division had placed. For now he would abide by them and perhaps expand to help the young tamer at a later date.

He looked up as Alice and Xander entered the office, his grandaughter had a particularly determined look on her face, he expected no less from her. She closed the door and locked it then stood

beside Xander on his right.

Dolphin addressed the young boy in front of him. "So you're a tamer?"

He looked around the room as though searching for anyone hidden then gave Dolphin a waiting look. Dolphin undersood what he was waiting for and nodded.

Xander glanced to his left and a slightly shorter figure suddenly appeared beside him.

"Hello Mr. McCoy", the black cloaked figure greeted. "I am Technowizardmon."

Dolphin nodded in greeting and turned to his computer.

"Don't bother", Xander told him. "He won't be in the computer database because, I made him up."

Dolphin looked at him with a surprised expression where as Alice's boardered on shock.

Xander shrugged, "Hey I was surprised too."

"When did you two meet", Dolphin asked?

"About a week ago", Xander responded. "He was fighting an Ogremon."

Dolphin nodded thoughtfull then extended his hand palm up. "May I see your digivice?" He noticed Xander frown slightly but he reached into his pants pocket and gave him the device.

Dolphin opened a database window with information about the digivices used by the tamers in Japan. He didn't have to open up the database to know that this version was different. For one thing it's screen was much larger and was actually just a modified electronic device rather than an all new device.

He plugged a USB cable into the slot on the side of the digivice and watched as information scrolled accross the screen.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jeff was in his room working on his light homework assighnment, Commandramon sleeping against the wall, rifle still held in his hands accross his chest.

Jeff ran a hand through his spiky dark brown hair, unable to concentrate on his work. He had done reasearch on the internet about digimon tamers and had come up with little to help him or his digimon partner. He new that a healthy supply of digimon cards would be very handy and a tamers duty was to deal with any digimon that appeared in the real world, which apparently suited Commandramon just fine.

A loud beeping sound snapped him from his thoughts and Commandramon wide awake. Jeff pulled his I-Pod turned digivice out of his pocket and looked at the red screen.

Commandramon ran up to him, "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure", was Jeff's answer. He tapped the screen and a holographic compass suddenly appeared.

Commandramon stiffned and ran over to the open window. "There's a digimon out there."

Jeff looked alarmed, "You sure?"

His partner nodded, "I'm sure." Without warning the digimon climbed out the window and jumped onto the ground below.

"Wait for me", Jeff yelled in a panic. He grabbed his digimon cards that he had taken out earlier and ran out the door to catch up to his partner. Managing to avoid direct contact with his parents he simply yelled, "I'm going out", then left the house.

He ran accross the street and met up with Commandramon near some bushes.

"What took you so long", his partner asked him?

Jeff held out his digimon cards. "Not wise to go into battle unprepared if you can help it."

Commandramon laughed. "Now you're talking like a real soldier."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Dolphin was finishing his analysis of the digivice it suddenly started to glow brightly. "What's happening he asked Xander?"

Xander looked stumped, "I don't know it hasn't glowed that bright since it turned into a digivice!"

A beam shot out of the digivices screen and slammed strait into Alice, causing Xander to jump back instinctively. "I hope you know what's going on more than I do", he yelled at Dolphin over the loud noise of the beam!

Dolphin wished he did, but at the moment he was dumbfounded and helpless as the strange light continued to throw itself at his grandaughter.

Then a bright glowing ball emerged from Alice's chest and the light seemingly dragged it back into the digivice then disappeared. The glowing then reappeared, but coming from Dolphin's computer monitor. Before the programmer could do anything about it a light beam shot out of the monitor, strait at Alice then strait into her hand.

Alice stared at the now glowing ball in her hand. Than it glowed brighter as it began to form into a new shape. When she looked at it again she suddenly found herself short of breath and in total shock.

Xander leaned closer and looked at the object in Alice's hand. "Wow", he exclaimed! "Just like the second season of digimon!" The object in Alice's hand was no less than a digivice.

It was just like the tamers digivice or D-arcs but it's primary colour was black instead of white and the ring around the screen was silver. Looking closer at the screen they could see an egg shaped icon.

Alice stared at the tiny screen with a mixture of astonishment and confusion. "What does this mean?"

Dolphn scratched his head. "I'm sorry Alice but I don't have a clue." He walked back to his computer and noticed a search window on the screen that read, 'Searching for Data'. He adjusted his glasses, "Hey I think I know what's going on."

He reached into his bag on the floor and took out his laptop, placed it on his desk beside his desktop monitor and powered it up. 'I can't believe this is happening', he thought. 'My own grandaughter now forced into danger, again.'

He looked at Xander's digivice, and noticed it's screen saver had activated. He wondered what someone else's digivice would have to do with Alice getting her own.

Xander went over and touched a button on his digivice and the screen saver vanished, replaced with a screen that said, "Download Complete."

Frowning Dolphin went back to the laptop which had finished powering up. He took out a cable and plugged the laptop into his wireless router. Moving to his desktop computer he opened a window and typed in a series of commands. The search screen suddenly vanished and returned to the desktop screen. He then moved back to his laptop and was happy that hs idea worked.

"What are you doing grandpa", Alice asked?

"I had the laptop do the search instead of the desktop, that way I can still work." He moved to the desktop computer again and began typing commands.

"Are you trying to access the digivice to find what commands or codes it was following when it did... that?"

Dolphin smiled and nodded, "You're pretty quick." His smile vanished as he discovered that the digivice was blocking him from accessing it. "Looks like your digivice has some kind of firewall."

Xander looked at him curiously, "Is it not supposed too?"

"Well the digivices the Japanese tamers used didn't have one but they used the same program we designed so that might be one reason."

Xander thought for a moment. "So mine must use a different program. Is it because mine was another gadget before it was a digivice?"

Dolphin sighed, "I wish I had an answer for you."

Alice approached him. "But Grandpa, what about this?" Alice held out her digivice, showing him the screen with the digiegg.

Dolphin pushed his chair back and looked at her. "That I think I do know what's going on." He nodded to her digivice. "You're digivice is at this moment connected to a digicore that is now on the laptop. Somehow, possibly related to biomerging a digicore was stored inside you and Xander's digivice downloaded it from you and transfered it to the computer."

Xander held up a hand. "Wait, a digicore?"

"To keep it simple", the Dolphin explained, "A digicore is a digimon's soul."

Alice was shocked once more and looked at the screen on her digivice a deep look in her eyes. A core, and it was stored inside her, could it be Dobermon?

Dolphin sighed and looked at her. "I don't know for sure Alice", he said. "But it probably is."

Alice was somewhere between shock and happiness, and Dolphin was glad, it would be just the thing to bring up her spitits.

"So what's the digicore doing", Xander asked?

Dolphin swivled in his chair to face him. "Right now it's searching for data it can use to create a digital image of itself so that the digivice can bring it into the realworld."

Xander frowned, "But what did my digivice have to do with it?"

Dolphin looked at his computer screen with a "Denied Access" screen overtop the other windows. "That's what I was trying to find out", he said as he disconnected Xander's digivice from his computer. "But if I had to guess I'd say that the digivice might have been the only thing capable of communicating with the core enough to make the transfer possible."

Xander nodded and accepted the digivice from him. No sooner then he was about to put it in his pocket that it started beeping.

Technowizardmon jerked to face the window, "A digimon is on it's way here."

Dolphin paled. "The digicore transfer must have released a temendous amount of energy, that must be what attracted it."

Xander brought up the holo-compass and looked out the window where it was pointing. "We can intercept it at the park if we hurry."

Xander ran out the door and his partner vanished.

Shaking off her disorientation Alice bolted after him. "Wait for me!"

Dolphin grunted and raced after them.

He reached the porch and began to put on his shoes.

"Are you going too?"

Dolphin looked up at his wife. "I thought I'd supervise. Make sure they don't do something they

regret."

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a disapproving glare. "Rob", she said in a warning tone.

"Don't worry", he said as he opened the door, "I don't expect them to do anything, it's just a procaution." He ran out the door after the two kids who he spotted disappearing into the woods accross the street. He wished he could have come up with a better excuse but he didn't want to worry his family right now.

* * *

**Anyway this is chapter 5 and Cheers to Blazing Chaos for helping me out and vastly improving my writing.**


	6. The Plot Thickens

Tamers West

The Plot Thickens

Xander rushed through the brush, trying not to get caught on the many branches that threatened to rip his clothes. He could hear Alice not far behind him and he was sure they were both glad for the nights full moon. He could faintly see the park just up ahead, his partner waiting for him.

The park was more or less abandoned, serving only as a hang out for older kids. It's play structures consisted of monkey bars, a series of logs placed vertically in the ground and some half buried tires, with a pair of swing sets thrown in for good measure.

Finally free of the brush he sprinted to his partner's side. "How close?"

Technowizardmon shifted into a defensive stance. "Very close."

Looking at his holo-compass he began to think about possible strategy's despite not having even seen his opponent.

He didn't have to wait long however as a caped figure flew over the trees, his features shadowed by the moon light. He heard movement behind him but his digivice didn't detect it was a digimon so he focused on the threat in front of him.

Finally the analyzer screen appeared and he read out loud: **Wizardmon:** **Data Demon Man Digimon. Attacks: Thunderball and vision of terror and Illusion. Champion Level**

His heart beat faster than before, this battle would be different then the ones they had fought before. Besides fighting the digimon which Tech was based off of, Tech also had a type disadvantage.

They had always fought virus types, which were fairly easy for Tech because he was a vaccine type. Xander frowned, this would be better if he knew how to use the cards, he had searched through his digivices numerous programs and windows fruitlessly in search for a solution.

"Keep you distance for now then go in when you get an opening", he told his partner.

Technowizardmon nodded, "I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask Tech."

The Wizardmon now stood before them. "Who dares to stand in my way."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Obviously we do."

**Thunder Ball**

Tech put up a shield to block the blow the attack and it slamed against the shield with great force.

Wizardmon charged at his technological double with his staff raised.

Tech jumped away just before the his opponent struck.

**Plasma Bolt**

Wizardmon put up his staff to block the blow but the blast from the plasma bolt was too much and it sent him back.

"Now Tech!"

Tech charged at his stunned opponent his staff ready.

**Light Spear**

Wizardmon recovered and managed to parry the attack partly but he got caught in the side. Despite his pain he raised his left arm to attack again.

**Thunder Ball**

Tech got hit point blank and tumbled backward. Wizardmon dropped to one knee holding his side, glaring at Tech who staggered to his feet.

"Do you enjoy being a pet for human's amusement", he asked Tech?

Tech now on his feet looked at the other digimon confused. "What?"

"Look at you, getting beaten by one of your own kind while your human 'master' sits back and enjoys the show."

"I am not his master", Xander shouted furiously. "Technowizardmon is my partner, if I could fight with him I could but right now I can't. I don't force him to fight, he does it of his own will."

"Lies", Wizardmon growled.

"It's the truth", Tech said. "He does not force me to fight, I do so because I want to protect the innocent people in this city."

Wizardmon snorted in disgust, "Humans know nothing about innocence, they tried to destroy us when we did nothing to them in return, and almost succeeded but we the digimon rose up and defeated their agent of evil."

Xander gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about, we didn't even know digimon existed a year ago."

Wizardmon grunted in annoyance. "Feigning ignorance is pointless, I see through your lies."

"Enough", Tech walked towards the other digimon. "If Xander's intentions were evil then he would not have become my tamer. Right now you can choose to leave or die here by my hand, but I will not allow you to endanger anyone."

Wizardmon glared at him. "Fine, if you want to be a child's toy than I won't change your mind, but I won't allow you to spread your poison around any longer."

Tech readied his staff. "Funny, I was about to tell you the same thing."

**Thunder Ball**

**Plasma Bolt**

The two attacks crashed into each other and cancelled each other out with a thunderous explosion.

Xander gripped his digivice tightly in frustration. Though he hated to admit it Wizardmon was right. All he did was sit on the sidelines and shout advice accross at his partner which wasn't much help against an opponent like this.

"Do you have any cards", Alice asked him?

He turned to her disparangly and showed her his digivice. "No slot!"

Alice held out her own digivice. "But that make no sense, mine has one."

Suddenly a beam of light shot out of Alice's D-arc and hit Xander's digivice. Xander's screen glowed and Alice's D-arc glowed completely. When the light had dimmed Xander looked at his digivice but saw no physical difference.

The same could not be said for Alice's. It was much more compact and had a wide screen like Xander's but Alice made a distressing observation. "The card slot's gone!"

Xander almost panicked but he thought, 'why would the digivice downgraid itself, unless'. Xander went back to his digivices main menu and a small window appeared saying a new program had been added. He followed the highlighted link to the program and a holographic pad appeared.

Wizarmon jumped above Tech ready with another attack.

**Thunderball**

Tech vanished just as the attack was about to hit. Frantically Wizardmon searched for where he could have disappeared to.

**Light Spear**

Wizardmon cried out in pain as the attack hit him in the back and he fell forward to the ground.

Xander's mind focued, this was their chance. He took out a card from his pocket, 'here goes nothing.'

**Digimodify: Power Activate**

He place the card on the holographic pad and lines withing the pad lit up. Tech felt power rushing into him like never before, it was incredible.

"Finishing Move", Xander yelled!

Tech held his staff out in front of him, just like when he landed the final blow on Ogremon. Power flowed into his staff and he dropped.

Wizardmon rolled on his back and his eyes widened in horror.

**Light Spear**

The staff pierced the data digimon and a shockwave shook the air, and when the dust settled only Wizardmon's data remained to dissapate into the air.

"Thanks for the help", Tech said to his tamer.

Xander shruged, "You did all the hard stuff I just put the card on the pad."

Tech sighed as he realized what Wizardmon had said had struck a chord in his tamer. "Xander you do more than you realize."

Xander blinked, how did he do more than shout battle strategies and his new ability to use modify cards?

"You give me a life beyond fighting, if you were just using me then you wouldn't treat me as a friend, you share knowledge with me and teach me so many things about this new world I live in. I understand if you feel a little worthless in battle, but remember that I draw strength from you, that's how I win battles."

Xander smiled, "Thanks Tech."

"He's right."

Xander turned and was only slightly surprised to see Dolphin standing behind him.

"Digimon draw strenght from thier bond with children, whithout which, they wouldn't have evolved as far as they did."

Xander nodded and looked at Alice who was staring at her new digivice. "What happened to her digivice?"

Dolphin gently took Alice's digivice and examined it. "As far as I can tell it somehow copied the abilities and attributes of yours, like being thinner but widening to accomodate a larger screen. At the same time though it combined it's card reading ability and something from your digivice to create the holopad you used for the modify cards, simulaneously allowing it to do away with the card slot and have the same set up."

Xander nodded and looked at Alice. "So that makes us both tamers than."

Alice frowned, "Well I don't have a digimon - yet but I guess so." Alice looked back at her screen, the egg icon still there. Could this be real, was she really going to become a full fledged tamer. But how, she remembered how Dobermon's data had lingered briefly after he had accomplished his sacrificial task, but for some reason she had been able to hear his voice piriodically since then. She had thought it was her imagination, but now that she knew she had his core inside him, it made sense. It was him, she just knew it. But would he remember her?

Suddenly two sources of beeping caused everyone to stiffen and Alice to be driven from her thoughts. "Another one? But we just had a hard fight!"

Tech turned to face the direction of the incoming digimon. "Don't worry, I can handle it", he said confidently.

Xander swallowed, "Doesn't look like we have much choice at this point."

The new digimon came from the same direction as Wizardmon, leading Xander to assume they bioemerged in the same place. The shadowed figure had large ravaged wings and long skinny limbs. "A Devimon", Xander said with dread in his voice.

The digimon landed on the ground, it's fearsome appearence now more defined.

Alice brought up her digimon analyzer, "Not quite. **Ice Devimon: Virus Ice Digimon. His Tundra Freeze can turn even fires into icicles.**

Ice Devimon smiled devilishly. "How convienent I get to destroy a tamer and his digital pet so sone after coming to this world. I really must thank you, you've made things so much easier for me, as reward I will make your deaths as painless as possible."

Xander snorted, "In your dreams fang face." He turned to his partner, "You have the type advantage this time Tech, but don't get to close or he might put you on ice."

Now Ice Devimon snorted. "Vaccine or not no human's lapdog can defeat a true digimon."

Tech narrowed his eyes at the virus, "Well I'm no lapdog so I shouldn't have a problem!"

The virus grinned. "I suppose after absorbing the data of my compatriot you might be more confident, but you will still fall."

Xander's eyes narrowed. "Compatriot? You two were working together, for what? You two are different attributes, you a virus and Wizarmon was data. What did you come here for?"

Ice Devimon laughed. "Do you really think I'm going to tell you just like that?" His face turned serious and disdainful. "Humans really are arrogant aren't they, thinking that all digimon should obey them and bow to their will."

"I never said that", Xander countered!

"You didn't have to. I won't tell you what our plan is but I'm sure you know that it doesn't bode well for you."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised."

"I am but a small part of a much bigger picture, even Wizardmon knew that such a fate could await him. We were but a small part of a much bigger picture that you would be lucky to see. I would enjoy seeing the look on your face as all traces of humanity are erased from this world."

**Plasma Bolt**

Ice Devimon flapped his wings and flew up avoiding the attack.

Tech stepped forward. "Enough talk, if you have evil intentions than you will suffer Wizardmon's fate."

**Avalanche Claw**

Tech put up his energy shield and blocked the incoming projectiles.

Xander watched as Ice Devimon's icicles crashed into his partners shield. Frantically he searched through his modest collection of modify cards trying to find something useful.

Ice Devimon wasn't going to wait however and saw an opportunity.

**Tundra Freeze**

Tech formed his shield into a dome around himself as the attack washed around him. Ice Devimon smirked, exactly what he wanted to happen. Tech suddenly found himself trapped inside a dome of ice that had formed against his sheild.

Xander started to panic, his partner was trapped in a dome about to get deleted, and all becaue he had forgotton a few strategy basics, like to wait and see what your oppont was capable off before going for a full out attack. But he couldn't give up yet, it was still possible to get a win out of near defeat.

_'Can you teleport'?_

_'No'_, Tech replied, desperation in his voice. _'It's so cold I can't trigger it.'_

Xander frowned and scanned thrught his cards. Use an enemy's strenght against them and turn your own weaknesses into a strength. He had remembered that advice from long ago, how could he use the cold to his advantage. His eyes locked on a modify card with a chip on it, instantly remembering something he had seen on a comercial for the upcoming digimon game.

_'I got a card that might work, but it might hurt to.'_

_'A little soreness I can get over. But not if I'm deleted'_, his partner replied. His voice was surprisingly calm despite his situation, even as Ice Devimon advanced to deliver the crushing blow.

Xander swallowed as he brought up the modify screen, 'here goes.'

"I suppose I must thank you, It will be quite a status boost for me to destroy a tamed digimon. The master might even reward me with great power or even a spot in his inner circle."

Tech narrowed his eyes inside the dome. "Who's this master?"

Ice Devimon shook his head. "If you really think I would be foolish enough to divulge that so easily or at all for that matter than you are yourself a great fool. To be expected of course from one who allowed himself to be tamed by a human."

**Digimodify: Supercharge Chip Activate**

Technowizardmon's staff vanished and he put both hands forward right in Ice Devimon's direction.

**Plasma Bolt**

Unlike the burst of energy that was his attacks attribute, this was a continuous stream that was rapidly buring through the frozen prison. The blast finally burst through the ice dome and Ice Devimon learned the hard way that plasma burned hotter than fire. The virus digimon was blown away by the stong attack until he crashed into the monkey bars.

Tech staggered out of the Ice dome steam coming off of his cloak and gloves. "Suddenly having a tamer doesn't seem so bad does it!"

Xander released a breath he had been unconciously holding. "I used the the Supercharge card that provides a constant stream of energy for an attack until the digimon weares out or in Techs case, overheats. I used the cold inside the dome to allow it to last longer so I could hit Ice Devimon too."

He turned his attention to his partner, "You okay?"

Tech shook himself, "I'll live."

"Not for much longer", came a sinister voice. Ice Devimon was now on his feet and advancing towards them furious. "I went easy on you before, a mistake I won't make again, you shall pay and your data shall become-" Ice Devimon was interrupted when a small round object landed at his feet. "What is-", Ice Devimon was blown on his back once more when the small object exploded, making him only angrier.

"Yeah, how do ya like that pineapple ya frozen freak!"

Everyone turned to see a cyborg dino digimon standing off to their left and a human beside him.

Xander couldn't believe it, "Jeff!"

Jeff was equally surprised, "Xander! What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "Same thing as you I guess."

Jeff ran over to him, "When did you become a tamer?"

"Don't you boys have something more important to focus on", Alice asked?

Jeff looked at her, "What are you doing here?"

Alice held out her digivice, "I'm a tamer too." She puased then added, "Sorta." Jeff held out his own digivice and once again Alice's digivice began to glow. Light burst out of her digivice and hit Jeff's , then his glowed and another light beam burst from Alice's digivice and hit Xander's. After all the glowing had subsided their digivices had changed.

Xander's and Alice's now had a scroll wheel in addition to their buttons and Jeff's now had a widescreen. Jeff marvled at the change. "Wow, it's like an I-Pod touch now!"

Sounds of fighting coming from nearby brought them back to the reality of why they were here.

Xander turned to Jeff. "There should be a modify program screen in there, it'll let you use modify cards!"

Jeff checked his his digivice and a holopad appeared. "I'm ready."

Xander nodded, unable and unwilling to surpress a grin. "Let's show him what we got."

Jeff nodded with a grin of his own. "Peace of cake."

Technowizardmon was firing small Plasma Bolts at Ice Devimon, not doing any damage but keeping the vile digimon on his toes.

**Avalanche Claw**

Though reluctant Tech was forced to put up another sheild to protect himself. Ice Devimon was about to seal the deal once again with another Tundra Freeze but he forgot one small detail.

**C-7**

Commandramon fired his assault rifle at the white demon, peppering him with hot lead.

Despite the pain Ice Devimon charged at the cyborg digimon ready to attack.

**Frozen Claw**

The two tamers however were ready. Xander was first. **Digimodify: Speed Chip Activate**

Tech rushed inhumanly fast at the attacking digimon.

**Light Spear**

He caught Ice Devimon in the side just before he hit Commandramon.

Jeff was next. **Digimodify: Power Activate**

Commandramon turned and fired his assault rifle on his opponent once more, but now with much greater power.

Ice Devimon cried out and pain but managed to flap his wings which now had even more holes in them. He flapped his wings hard as he turned to retreat.

Jeff scowled, "Not so fast." **Digimodify: Hyperwing Activate**

Brightly glowing white wings burst from from Commandramons back. "All right let's get him." He took off strait after Ice Devimon with Technowizardmon right behind him.

Ice Devimon spun around to face them but maintained his momentum in the opposite direction.

**Avalanche Claw**

Tech noted that his attack sounded more desperate this time. He glared at the incoming icicles, "Not this time." He grabbed Commandramon's hand and they both vanished.

Ice Devimon was shocked and looked around frantically for them.

**Light Spear**

Ice Devimon Turned**, Frozen Claw**

Ice Devimon barely managed to deflect the attack from behind, and Tech jumped back but he was grinning.

Ice Devimon was then kicked towards the ground with violent force. Looking above him he saw Commandramon had come from above him, Technowizardmon's attack had been mearly a destraction.

**Grenade**

Commandramon hurled another explosive at Ice Devimon just as he slammed into the ground.

"Nooooooo". Ice Devimon's screams were silenced by the deafening bang of the grenade going off.

The two digimon landed on the ground and waited for the smoke to clear. They were disappointed when Ice Devimon stood amongst the dust. "You may destroy me", he said tiredly. "But I won't be alone! He thrust his hand inside his body and screamed in pain as he pulled out a glowing white ball.

"A digicore", Dolphin exclaimed! "Why did he rip out his own digicore?"

Ice Devimon grinned at him. "So I can do this." He threw his digicore at them and his body dissolved into data.

Tech teleported in front of the humans and managed to put up a shield just in time. The digicore hit and exploded with frighting force. Despite Technowizardmon's shield everyone was blown back by the explosion.

When the smoke cleared Tech colapsed to his knees, weak.

Xander ran over to him, "You okay?"

Tech nodded, "Yeah just a little tired."

Everyone looked at the large crater in the ground. "How did you stop a blast that powerful?"

Dolphin shook his head. "That craters to large to have been made by that explosion. It must have been concentrated in a small area and the blast was just the reaction of the air."

Commandramon ran up his wings now gone.

"Nice work partner", Jeff said to his digimon.

"Not to bad yourself Tamer", Commandramon chuckled as he clapped Jeff on the shoulder.

Xander pointed his digivice at him. **Commandramon Rookie Virus Cyborg Digimon. He'll do whatever it takes to complete his mission. His Assault Rifle and grenades pack more punch then you might think.**

Commandramon slung his C-7 assault rifle over his shoulder. "Yep that's me."

Jeff pointed his digivice at Tech. **Technowizardmon: Champion Vaccine Wizard Digimon. He uses technology to create the illusion of magic. His Plasma Bolt is an attack best avoided.**

Tech shrugged, "That's me, more or less."

Commandramon laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. "You're way to modest pal. You put up one hell of a fight."

Tech rubbed his shoulder. "Thanks, you too."

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The three tamers and the two digimon now stood in Rob McCoy's office, all wondering what was to happen to them now.

"Here's what I know", Dolphin said. "Digimon are somehow appearing here because of some kind of dimensional hole the D-Reaper caused when it left the real world.

He noticed the two boys shudder from memories of when the D-Reaper had appeared in the city, threatning to destroy them all.

"I'm here to find out why so many digimon are coming here when they could go through the portal in Shinjuku just as easily. Obviously one could be that they know the tamers are there, of course they probably also know that they don't have their digimon at the moment."

Xander's eyes widened, "Wha-What happened to them?"

Dolphin frowned, "It's a long story, but in the end it allowed us to get rid of the D-Reaper for good."

Jeff stepped forward. "So what do we do now?"

Dolphin adjusted his glasses. "Just keep doing what you've been doing, but keep in mind that I won't be able to help you much right now, and it's best if you keep this from your parents as well.

"No arguments from me", Jeff remarked.

"What about our digivices", Xander asked? "How did they change."

Dolphin pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. "I don't know how the process works but it seems as though Alice's has the ability to transfet and copy the unique abilities of other digivices to itself and others. This might be becaue it was originally a normal D-Arc which the other digivices are derived from.

The young tamers stared at their digivices, pondering what the man just said in their heads, and checking it against their own theories.

Dolphin leaned back in his chair and sighed. "That's about all I can tell you now, sorry."

Xander nodded, "About time for us to be heading home anyway."

Alice opened the door for them and they went out, giving her a nod as they left. She heard Technowizardmon teleport himslef and Commandramon out of the room immediately afterwards.

"Why didn't you tell them grandpa", she asked with her back still turned? "About you working for the government?"

Dolphin tightned his fists. "I wish I could sweatheart but I don't know what their feelings are towards the tamers. Hypnos wasn't to keen on the idea at first either. So for their own saftey I think it's best to keep everything a secret."

Alice tilted her head down. "I see." Without another word she left the office and walked to her room, leaving her grandfather to ponder the events of the day.

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Alice walked up to the two boys as they put their shoes on and prepared to leave. "Do you guys have a minute?"

They looked up at her. "I guess", they responded.

Alice sighed and motioned them to step outside. She closed the door behind them and pulled them over away from the window. "I guess you guys are wondering about what happened in Japan."

"Crossed are minds", Jeff said.

Sighing Alice decided to tell her story. "During the D-Reaper attack I helped a digimon named Dobermon deliver something to the tamers that would allow them to biomerge with their digimon so they could defeat it."

The boys winced sympathetically, they had a pretty good idea of his fate.

"He had to sacrifice himself in order to deliver the gift. Even after he had been hunted mercilessly, even after we had been through so much together he had to sacrifice himself to fulfill his duty." Alice was beginning to shed tears already, the haunting memories coming back to her.

"But he's coming back now right?"

Alice looked up at Xander.

"That egg on the screen is his right? It was his that imbedded itself in you. It does make sense right?"

Alice smiled, a legitimate one this time. "I believe it is yes. I've learned to stop feeling sorry for myself now, and I should alway try to live on. That's what he would want.

Jeff nodded, "I'm sure he would and it's great that you know about that." The two boys looked at each other knowingly.

"That's why we want you to be our leader", Xander said.

Alice's heard stopped and her eyes widened. "But, why, how?"

"Face it", Xander continued. "You know more about digimon than any of us, you have more experiance and your grandfather is one of the creators."

Jeff nodded. "Plus your grandfathers working for the goverment so that should make things even better."

Alice's eyes were filled with alarm. "How did you know about that?"

Xander grinned. "You told us."

"What! When?"

"Just now."

Alice cried out in frustration as she realized she'd been duped.

Jeff laughed, "Don't worry we won't tell anyone but you have to admit it doesn't take a detective to figure it out."

Alice sighed, she had to agree with that.

"And maybe we can get you into the 'Stratega club'.

Alice tilted her head in confusion. "The what?"

Xander answered, "It's a club that Elle, Ciel, Jeff, Mike, and I are a part of."

"Rather we are the club", Jeff remarked.

Xander ignored him. "We incorporate strategy into games we play for fun. Like Real Time Strategy games, games like Halo, or Battlefield or even Chess."

"Or digimon card battles", Jeff added.

Alive looked thoughtful, "Well it sounds interesting, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn strategy since I'm going to be leading the tamers."

Jeff grinned, "So you accept than?"

Alice sighed, "As long as I don't have to wear goggles."

The boys laughed. "Don't worry, you won't as long as you don't make one of us wear it", Jeff told her.

Xander looked at the time on his digivice. "Well we'd better go."

Alice nodded, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye", they said as the left.

As Alice watched them go a feeling of peace came upon her. Maybe it was all those feeling that she had gotten off her chest. Either way it felt good.

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It was now ten o'clock, Alice sat on her bed in her night gown staring at her digivices screen as she held it in her hand. Her mind was a buzz, running everything that had happened tonight. She was a tamer she reminded herself for what may have been the hundredth time, or she would be as soon as the egg hatched. The egg icon on the screen had remained unchanged but she remained optimistic. Dobermon, she was sure it was him, he was coming back to her, she almost couldn't believe it. When he arrived they would continue the friendship they had developed and they would fight to protect, just as they had done before.

She thought back to her conversation with the boys. They had decided her as their leader which according to her mother was unprecidented for the male species. The 'Stratega Club' may be the source of their rumored unpopularity, but it seemed practical enough and might even be fun.

Alice settled onto her pillow holding her digivice close to her chest before finally falling asleep with a smile, for the fist time, for a long time.

* * *

The second part of the original chapter 5. I've added more stuff and I tried to make the second fight with Ice Devimon more interesting. thanks for reading.


	7. Shadows

Tamers West

Chapter 7: Shadows

Torment, agony, pain, that was how she described what she was feeling right now. She ambled along a sandy beach, her mind nimb from her anguish.

Her body felt no pain, it was her mind that was tormented. Horrendous storms of dark thoughts raged within her mind and quakes of sadness and despair cracked it.

She smiled grimly at her own joke. She had to find humor when she could because it was rare for her to even smile much less crack wise.

Another thunder bolt of pain struck her mind and she collapsed to her knees, crying out in pain as she clutched her head tinghtly, as though trying to squeeze the pain out. When it finally subsided she exhaled sharply and fell face first in the sand.

How long had she been like this? Had it been months, or years even? She had lost tack of time long ago, assuming it had been long enough to have been long ago.

Relief flooded over her as the pain began to leave her small body leaving only a kind of mental itch instead of pain. She got up and brushed the sand off her black fur and shook her head to remove any sand from her pointed ears. Twitching her tail she looked at her surroundings.

A thick fog surrounded and covered everything as far as she could see, being much thicker over the water. It made the whole world seem grey and gloomy, like her. How much longer would she suffer? How much longer would she have to live in this grey gloomy world? Would it ever end?

She sighed sadly as she remembered when she used to be happy and carefree, when she would laugh and smile. Then one day that all changed when she assumed her present form, Black Gatomon.

She had lost the care free life she had and was forced into responsibility. She had tried her best but no matter how well she did it was never enough for the village elders. Not long afterwards she was sent away to, 'Grow up', as the elders had told her. They said she would accomplish this through self-sufficiency and experiance.

Bitterness filled her as more and more the truth became obvious. She was a dark digimon and in a community that consisted of many so called 'holy' digimon she was a stain, a pestilence that needed to be ridden of.

Not long after she had left the village the pain had started and somehow she had ended up here, in this place of perpetual grey, fog, and gloom.

She plopped down on the sand and stared up. "Am I just ment to suffer?"

In her peripheral vision she saw something black approaching from the water. Immediately she was on her feet in a defensive stance, ready to face it. Slight fear entered her as it came even closer. Even the fog seemed to fear the blackness as it parted to make way for the inky black shadow in the water.

"You do not need to suffer if you do not want to."

Black Gatomon was startled, the voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, as though whoever was speaking was the world itself and was deep and foreboding. Assuming the black shadow in the water was what was speaking she talked to it. "Who are you."

"I am the ruler of this relm", it replied. "I can help you."

Black Gatomon narrowed her eyes. "Help me how?"

There was a pause before the shadow answered. "The pain you feel is not your own, someone else is causing you to feel that pain, and is making no effort to end it.

Black Gatomon clenched her fists angrily, so filled with anger and hate she had no time to be surprised or curious. "You know where I can find this someone?"

"I could", the shadow answered, "But there would be no point, it's human and I cannot send you there."

Black Gatomon growled in frustration, so far the shadow had not been much help.

"But with you I can instead bring her here."

Black Gatomon's eyes brightned with hope, but only briefly as she thought of something. "There's a catch isn't there."

"Indeed. You are more or less a personification of that person's dark thoughts and feelings, her shadow, therefore you are bonded. If she dies, so do you."

Black Gatomon's heart sank. "So what do I do", she asked desperately?

"You are bonded to her, so the only way to make you able to kill her without dieing is by becoming bonded to me instead, as my servant."

Black Gatomon's eyes narrowed once more. She didn't like the thought of being anyone's servant, but it seemed she was already a slave to whomever was causing her this pain.

"What do I have to do?"

"For you to be truly free you and only you must kill the girl who's pain you feel. To do that I will have to bring her here, then I can bring you under my power, but I can only do so temporarily before she regains control."

Black Gatomon put her paws to gether thoughtfully. "Is that when I kill her?"

"Yes, once you are under my power I can give you the power to finish her."

Black Gatomon's eyes widened in shock. "You can make me digivolve?"

"I can and I must for only in your digivolved form can my power become fully manifested in you, therefore only in that form can you kill your enemy."

Back Gatomon crossed her arms. "Then I become your servant forever right?"

"No."

Back Gatomon was surprised, was this shadow really so benevolent?

"You will be my servant for a time, but eventually when you are ready I will free you so that you may fullfill your destiny."

Black Gatomon looked confused. "My destiny?"

The shadow chuckled. "You have no idea the great destiny in store for you, and once you achieve it, you will have no regrets."

Black Gatomon grinned, that sounded good enough for her. "Then we have a deal."

She could almost feel the shadow grin. "Good, now listen closely to the details because you are the one who must act it out."

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Ciel was on stage in front of a massive crowd wearing a dark blue dress, singing her absolute best, and loving it. She finished her song and the hall roared with the sounds of clapping hands as they gave her a standing ovation.

After a few curtain calls she retreated to her dressing room and stood in front of a large mirror to begin removing the ribbons from her hair. She heard the door open and assumed it was her mother. "I think that went very well", she said cheerfully.

Suddenly a loud crack was heard and Ciel fell to the floor in pain. Her eyes watering from pain she slowly turned over and looked up at her mother standing above her, angry and holding a whip.

"I was watching the guages", she growled. "You were five hertz off key."

Ciel desperately put up her hands in futile defense as she was whiped again and agian screaming she was sorry.

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Ciel sat up strait in her bed dripping slightly with a cold sweat. She looked around at her room, dark with only the moonlight coming through her window providing illumination.

She sighed in relief and relaxed her body, thankful it was only a dream. She looked at her digital clock, it's bright red digits indicting it was six a.m.

Frowning she got out of bed. She usually up at seven a.m so she would never get back to sleep anyway. She took off her nightgown and cotton undergarments then went into her bathroom to shower.

As she entered the stall and turned on the warm water. She thought about how some other girls would react to having such a nightmare. Perhaps they would scream or even cry, but not her. She didn't allow herself the luxury of crying, instead the feelings just ate her up inside.

After she finished her shower and dried herself off she walked over to her closet. On the way she passed her full body mirror and stopped to look at her naked body. There wasn't much to see since she was only twelve, but like her mother told her she would begin to 'blossom' as her mother put it, very soon.

She looked at a fashion magazine on her dresser in front of her vanity mirror. It was filled with steriotypical models, some of them were her mothers clients. Unlike many girls, especially those having parents in the same sort of work as her mother, she wan't pressured to look like them.

Firstly even her mother didn't want her to look like a collection of sticks wrapped in skin. She had been very vocal on the point that men didn't want to hug a girl they would cut themself on.

Grinning she remembered the second reason: her friends thought the same. Elle thought that their idea of an ideal woman was one of their own creation. She said that boys were visually stimulated, and no guy would be stimulated by a bag of bones in overpriced rags. The boys had voiced their agreement very clearly, though they weren't really at the age yet where they would know about such things.

'Speaking of which', she walked over to her computer and moved the mouse to bring it out of it's low power state or 'sleep mode' as it was more commonly called. She opened her internet browser and clicked the link to a website she had in her favorites folder, '' a website of very exclusive membership.

She logged in by typing in her username or call sign as it was called on the site, then her three different passwords. The security was necesarry to protect the identity of it's users. Real names weren't used but E-mails and other information and statistics could allow for someone to investigate into the identity of that person or more likely someones username on another website or Xbox Live.

All the members of the stratega club were members of the Juno Legion for which the website was made. The Juno Legion was an exclusive group of hardcore gamers that played with a level of professionalism. It was all still for fun but they played mostly team oriented games and despite how odd it would sound to many it was still fun despite some of the seriousness asociated with their playing.

A message appeared on her screen indicating someone from her unit was on the site. A unit was basically a group of members who were officially grouped up and played together often. She opened the onsite chatroom and invited her friend to a private chat.

**Director has logged in.**

**Director: Why r u here so early? Have another nightmare?**

She frowned, Xander knew her too well.

**Muskette: Yes, I'm sitting at my computer naked.**

She grinned as there was a long pause before he started typing again. Despite being so young he was still a boy and it was fun to play with his head.

**Director: Why?**

**Muskette: Cause i was to lzy to put my clother on. Why? R u stiff?**

If eaither of their parents caught them conversing like this they would be in big trouble and they would ask where they learned this kind of talk. The answer was that a lot of people who played online were older than eighteen.

**Director: Sorry, we're both still too young. XD**

**Muskette: Liar :p**

**Director: u wish.**

**Muskette: Whatever**

There was a pause before Xander replied.

**Director: wanna talk abt ur nightmare?**

Ciel sighed. The truth was that she did, but she didn't want to get her friends involved in her problem, because they would act on it whether she wanted them to or not and they would tell her parents which was the opposite of what she wanted.

**Muskette: nt rlly.**

**Director: u can't keep your feelings locked up forever. If u don't pop them they'll pop u.**

**Muskette: It's nt as bad as u think.**

**Director: Considering how many nightmares u've had I doubt it.**

**Muskette: I'm fine, rlly.**

**Director: Fine if u won't talk 2 me then at least talk 2 Elle.**

**Muskette: I'm fine. I'm not the only person with nightmares u know.**

**Director: Not every 1 is as bothered by them as you. U try to hide it but we can all C it.**

**Muskette: I promise I'll talk someday, but not now.**

**Director: Fine. But if u don't talk soon we'll rip it out of you.**

Ciel couldn't help but smile. Her friends were loyal to a fault, always so concerned about her always trying to help her, occasionaly by butting into her buisness but she always apprechiated it. She looked accross the room at the dagger hanging behind glass on her wall. Haunting memories of a cold steel blade pressed against her throat, by her own hand. That was the day she almost comitted suicide, and her friends had stopped her. Since then they had been paranoid about any nightmares or problems she would be facing. She didn't blame them.

Fortunately for her they promised not to tell her parents on the condition that she never keep her problems secret from them unless they were private family matters. She had told them she had tried to do it out of sadness that one of her best friends had died in a car accident, which did indeed happen. They accepted the tale, which wasn't the same as believing it. She also promised to herself and them that she would never attempt such a cowardly act again. It took more strenght and courage to live, than to die.

**Director: Muskette?**

Ciel shook her head clear.

**Muskette: Sorry, just sorta zoned out.**

**Director: OK, I gotta get ready for school. Se ya.**

**Muskette: bye.**

**Director has logged out. **

Sighing Ciel logged off the website and shut off her computer. Looking back at her digital clock on the other side of the room she felt that she should start getting ready for school.

When she got up off her chair her vision suddenly became clouded. Strangely it made it seem like her whole room was foggy. She moved over to her door and turned on the light. The lights came on and the fog vanished. Ciel thought it was odd but dismissed it with a shrug and as she gathered her school clothes she quickly forgot about it.

* * *

The plot thickens yet again and the tamers have what amy be considered a very odd hobby. Anyway, stay tuned for the next one.


	8. Segregation

Tamers West

Chapter 8: Segregation

Xander walked up the stairs to his room carrying a plate of breakfast for his partner. His mind dwelled on the events of last night and criticized his own performance. If not for the unique ability of Alices digivice Technowizardmon might have been deleted and it would have been his fault.

He shook his head clear, he couldn't allow himself to think like that. Something he had learned from being a hardcore gamer and from life was that you couldn't dwell on your mistakes, that made you more likely to repeat them. 'You can't improve you last performance so improve your next one' as the saying went among the Juno Legion forums.

He opened the door to his room and saw his partner sitting on his commputer chair. "Feel rested", he asked.

"Yes actually", the digimon replied as he accepted the meal.

Xander sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his computer's blank screen. He remembered his web chat with Ciel earlier.

He remembered he and the others running in on her kneeling on the floor in her room holding a knife to her own throat.

He mentally pushed the memory away, it wasn't something he like to think about. Another thought came in from the corner of his mind. 'Was she really naked? Why was she naked? Why did she tell me?'

His thoughts were interrupted when his watch started beeping.

Tech looked up from his plate. "Why is it beeping?"

"I set the alarm on my watch to tell me when I have to leave so I can stop by Alice's and still make it to school on time."

"Why are yo going to Alice's house", his partner inquired?

Xander shrugged. "Just wanna discuss a few things with her."

Tech stood up. "Is this how you intend to initiate courtship with her?"

Xander stared at him aghast. "No, I'm going there to talk to her not ask her out!"

Tech held up his hands. "I'm sorry I misunderstood."

Xander took a deep breath and relaxed. "It's okay." He walked over to his dresser picked up his wallet and put it in his pocket. "I'll meet you outside."

As Xander left Technowizardmon stood there puzzled-and not for the first time at human behaviour. He didn't want to think about what might have happened if the subject of mating came up.

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Alice sat at her desk already dressed in a plain white shirt and navy shorts. In her hands she held her digivice, it's screen still showing the egg icon. As she stared at it her mind whirled with the events of the previous night.

Not only had she discovered that two people she knew were tamers but she had become one herself, or would be once the egg hatched.

She frowned as her biggest worry once again entered her thoughts. Xander and Jeffery expected her to lead them.

From their point of view it made sense, she had been there when the D-Reaper attacked and her grandfather was one of the original creators of digimon, hense she had more exposure to digital life-forms than them.

From her perspective however it was different. Her exposure to digimon was only slightly more than theirs and most of all unlike them she wasn't very confidant that she would be able to lead them effectively

Her grandparents often said that things happen for a reason, and she believed this to be one of those things it had to be. Because despite all her doubts she couldn't bring herself to refuse the role of leadership that had been thrust opon her. It was too late anyway, she had already accepted it last night.

"Once your back", she said to her digivice. "We can lead them together, because I don't think I can alone."

The doorbell pulled her from her thoughts and she wondered who could have come here so early.

As she walked to the end of the stairs thinking of possible suspects until her mother answered the door.

"Oh hello Xander."

Alice smirked, 'Bingo.'

"Are you here to see Alice?"

"Yeah I was wondering if she'd like someone to walk her to school for a change."

Alice's eyes widened in shock. He was here to see walk her to school! 'Does he like me', she wondered?

She shook her head, no probably just wanted to talke about something digimon related. Unfortunately as she thought this she realized she had been unconciously checking herself in the wall mounted mirror. 'Stupid hormones' she chided.

As she walked downstairs she wondered why her grandmother insisted on having so many mirrors around the house, and at the top of the stairs of all places.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs she walked over to Xander wearing as natural a smile as she could muster. "Hello."

"Hi he greeted. "I was wondering if you'd like to walk to school."

She crossed her arms. "With you?"

He shrugged, "Yeah or you could walk by yourself or you could not walk at all."

Alice's smile became genuine. "Very funny."

Xander leaned against the doorframe. "Yeah Mike's usually the clown but I've got a line or two."

Alice frowned as she heard her mother snicker, then it dawned on her. 'Is he flirting with me?'

"So which will it be", he asked her?

She blinked. "Um sure, let me just go get my bag."

"Wouldn't hurt to bring some cash too", he called as she walked to the stairs. "The canteen's always has discounts on it's first day of the school year."

Alice looked back at him. She guessed from his expression that there was another reason. "Aliright", she replied slowly. "I'll be back in a second."

Alice ran up to her room, slipped her money pouch into her pocket, looped her school bag over her shoulders then gingerly placed her digivice in her other pocket.

Making her way downstairs her mother asked her, "Have everything?"

"Yes Alice responded as she placed he feet into her shoes. "I'll see you after school", she called as she ran out the door.

"Have a good day", her mother called after her.

"I will", she called back as they started down the street.

Once the door to her house closed Alice felt she was free to talk. "So why did you really want me to bring my money?"

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out his rather meek card deck. "Not the greatest selection is it? I planned on going to 'Starbase Transcona' to try and add a bit more to my deck, thought you would want to do the same.

Alice nodded. "Thoughtful."

He shrugged. "Just seemed like a good Idea."

Up ahead they saw someone standing on the corner.

Xander waved. "Hey Jeff."

The other body nodded in greeting. "Hey you two, out for an early morning stroll are we."

"Save it for Mike", Xander told him. "You bring your money?"

Jeff sighed. "Yep."

You two discussed this last night", Alice asked?

Xander shook his head. "Nah, we just know each other that well."

"You should ask Elle about it", Jeff told her. "She offers a more objective perspective."

Alice raised an eyebrow, all this seemed a little strange, maybe it was just her, or maybe it was something else.

"Alice you coming?"

Alice suddenly realized that the two boys were sever steps ahead of her. Banishing her previous thoughts she jogged up after them as they continued the trek to school.

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Along with the rest of her class Elle stood as the national anthem came through the speakers. Unlike most schools of Canada's western region, theirs played all three verses as opposed to only the english ones.

As the last word of the athem faded the students all sat in their seats and the moring announcements began. Elle only half listened, instead focusing mre on Ciel.

The girl seemed to be coming in and out of reality as she constantly drifted back to the realm of her own thoughts. What she was thinking about Elle didn't know, but being familiar with the girls history she doubted it was anything positive.

She turned her attention to Alice who seemed to actually be paying attention to the announcements, not unusual for a new student.

The teacher Ms Allen stepped in front of the class to address them. "Alright class I'll be collecting last nights homework soon but first-", Ms. Allen was cut off by the door opening and a one of the school councilors steeping in followed by a girl.

She had blonde hair that ran halfway down her back and soft violet eyes. Seh wore lavender bell bottom shirt and short pants with a pair of pink running shoes completing her outfit.

The councillor handed Ms. Allen a paper then he whispered something to her. Ms. Allen nodded and then he left leaving the blonde girl behind.

"So then", Ms Allen glanced at the paper and back at the girl. "Skye, please take a seat."

Elle knew exactly where she was going to sit because the only available desk was right in front of her.

As Skye took her seat Ms. Allen addressed the class again. "As I was saying, I hope you like you're sitting because that's where you'll be staying until further notice."

The students groaned as they just realized they'd been given assighned seating."

Elle didn't mind, she liked where she sat, although she would have to know more about this new girl before she could be fully comfortable.

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Dokunemon crawled between a pair of large rocks, trying not to be noticed by the much larger digimon he was following. Staying among the rocks was his best camoflage and silence was his best defense.

The digimon he was following finally stopped upon reaching a small stone pad surrounded by large rocks like the one Dokunemon was hiding behind.

"Welcome Stingmon", a voice said. "I was worried you would be unable to accept this mission."

Stingmon bowed. "My loyalty is to our cause above all else."

From his hiding place Dokunemon could not see who Stingmon was talking to and he dare not come out any further lest he give away his presence so he lay still and listned.

"You know of your mission", the voice continued. "Gather all yo can but do not delay in your return for every day the forces against us grow stronger."

Stingmon nodded. "I will not delay, but I will not come back until I have completed my task."

"Good, step onto the pad and wait until the data stream passes over, you will then be transported to the real world."

Dokunemon froze. 'The real world! Is he mad?'

"Dokunemon, what are you doing here?"

The larva like rookie turned to see Wormon as he said. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Quiet", Dokunemon hissed. "They'll hear you."

As Stingmon walked up the steps onto the stone pad his associate spoke to him. "Stingmon."

Stingmon stopped and turned his head back to the source of the voice.

"A word of caution. All those we sent before you have not returned, we can only assume that the humans found them. This makes you mission all the more important. I hope that this trend of lost brothers ends with you."

Stingmon nodded in thanks and continued up the steps as the sounds of a data stream grew closer.

Wormon had a panicked look in his eyes and scuttled closer to his fellow insectoid digimon. "Why are you here?"

"I was following Stingmon", Dokunemon answered. "I knew he was up to something."

Wormon frowned. "If you thought him doing wrong then why didn't you report it to the hive guard?"

"Do you really think they would acknowledge an accusation of one of their own from a rookie with no proof", he spat!

"You have never lied before", Wormon told him. "Why would they think you would start now?"

"My honesty is not that they would question. It would be facts that they would question and until now I had none, but I have no proof so it does me little good."

"Then come back", Wormon pleaded. "You can do nothing more."

"He's going to the real world", Dokunemon whispered harshly. "I cannot leave him to make war with the humans when we have just attained peace and at a great cost."

"But you cannot stop him", Wormon said still pleading.

The ground shook as the data stream grew near.

Dokunemon tured towards the stone pad. "I have to try." Before Wormon could protest further he dashed out from the rock and spit a stream of sticky string at Stingmon, catching him totally by surprise.

Stingmon realized what was happening and tried to remove the sticky mess but it was too data stream passed over the pad sucking him and Dokunemon into it.

Wormon watched as the data stream crossed his vision sucking Dokunemon into it. He hung his head low as it went away, already feeling that he had lost his friend forever.

Stingmon and his 'passenger had now entered the are between the real world and the digital world. "Dokunemon you continue to be a thorn in my side", he growled.

Dokunemon spat more sticky string at his face. "Whatever your plan is I will stop you."

Stingmon growled in frustration and cut the sticky string off with his energy blade then kicked Dokunemon hard, sending him flying away. "Little fool", he muttered.

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Ciel frowned as she read the next math problem in her textbook. With a clenched jaw she tried to focus her brain power at the problem but so far had been unable to get anywhere, math had never been her strongest subject.

"Excuse me."

Ciel looked up from her work to see Skye turned around in her seat looking at her. "Um, yes?"

"I was wondering, is this a segregated school?"

Ciel blinked in puzzlement then looked around the room. Sure enough there wasn't a single male to be seen. Finally she looked back at Skye and answered, "I don't know anymore."

The bell rang to indicate the lunch break had started and the students began to pack up their things.

Elle finished first and rushed to skye's side. "Would you like to have lunch with us?"

Skye looekd at her surprised. "I'd love to."

Ciel smiled and shook her head. That was Elle, always trying to make friends with everybody, to a fault at times.

After a brief stop at their lockers to get their lunch kits and deposit their books they went outside to their usuall meeting place where Mike, Jeff and Xander already sat.

"Hey guys", Elle waved.

The three boys nodded in greetin.

"Hey Elle, who's your friend", Mike asked?

Before Elle could answer Skye stepped forward. "I am Skye Stephansdottir."

Mike reeled back slightly and grinned. "You're not shy at all are you."

Jeff grinned. "Sounds like a perfect match for you Mike."

Mike glare at him and Skye blushed slightly as she sat down with the other girls.

Xander turned to her. "So you're Icelandic right?"

Ciel's eyes widened, she couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed the girls accent before now. Skye was even more surprised. "Yes I am. Could you tell by my name?"

He nodded. "It was the biggest give away, as far as I know Iceland is the only European country that doesn't use regular surnames. I'm assuming you moved from Gimli."

Gimli had the largest Icelandic and Norse or decended population in the country. It was roughtly two hours north of Winnipeg on the south-west coast of the provinces largest lake, Lake Winnipeg.

Skye nodded. "Yes I lived there for several years after we moved from Iceland."

"You like it here", Jeff asked her?

Skye looked out onto the grassy field where many of the students were playing, a whistful look in her eyes. "I do like this place", she said quietly. "But I do miss the mountains and hills of home."

"We have mountains", Mike said defensively.

"Not around here we don't", Jeff countered. " Manitoba alone is bigger than all of Iceland."

Elle leaned towards Skye. "If it doesn't make you homesick, would you mind telling us about Iceland?"

The blonde looked at her and smiled. "I'd love to."

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Dokunemon slowly regained consciousness as the effects of Stingmon kick and emergence into the real world began to leave his worn body. He slowly lifted his head ans surveyed his surroundings.

He had emerged near a dense group of trees and bushes surrounding a clearing that contained numerous strange looking structures made of wood and metal tubes.

He looked around for any sign of Stingmon and was both relieved and frustrated to find none. The champion either thought he had not arrived in the real world or he didn't think the small rookie to be a threat, probably the latter.

"I'll prove him wrong", he said determinedly. "I'll see to it that he regrets betraying the hive."

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Spirits were high as school finished classes for the day and the students emptied the building eager to get home or to whatever places they gathered after school. Neither applied to three of them as they made their way accross the neighbourhood to a comic shop called 'Starbase Transcona'.

It was a quaint rectangular brick building with a flat roof and the establishments name typed boldy on the wall.

"Let's not spend to much time here", Alice said to the boys.

Jeff sighed. "Fine."

Xander entered first holding the door open for the other two afterwards.

The shop was filled with the usual things; comic books, novelties, figurines, even videos and games. Near the back of the store was the sales counter, which appeared unoccupied.

"Let's split up and find them", Jeff suggested.

Alice sighed. "Fine, but stay focused."

Xander smirked. "Not likely."

As the boys disappeared Alice couldn't help but think of them as toddlers in a toy store.

Casully Alice walked up to the counter and immediately noticed the cardboard stand of digimon card packs sitting on it. "Guys", she called. "I found them."

After a few irritating moments the two boys finally appeared and stood next to her, looking at the selections available.

Jeff picked one up and frowned. "Not many in here for five bucks", he said sourly.

Alice sighed. "Well it needs to be done." Searching the counter she found a silver bell and rang it.

Instantly someone popped up from behind the counter causing the three tweens to jump back reflexively.

The spectacled desk clerk looked at them with a bored expression. "Can I help you", he asked in a nasily voice?

Alive winced and was greatful when Xander stepped forward. "We'd each like to buy a pack of these", he said as he held the card pack in front of him.

Sluggishly the desk clerk moved to the till and rang up their purchases, follwing which the three tamers promptly left the building.

"I hope I don't have to buy anymore cards for a while", Alice muttered.

Jeff chuckled. "He was probably up all night playing WOW." he turned away from the other two, "Anyway I've got to get home I'll see you later."

"Later Jeff", Xander called back.

As Jeff disappeared around the corner Xander turned to Alice. "I assume you need someone to show you the way home."

The blonde sighed and nodded.

"Don't worry", he told her. "It takes a while to get used to any new neighbourhood.

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Stingmon stood atop a tall bulding, oblivious to the roaring traffic below him, his insectoid eyes focused on the sun s it began it's decent below the horizon. How wonderfully strange and different it was compared to the switch from night and day in the digital world.

As he watched the sunset he became more baffled at how humans could be so negligent of nature and it's beauty. It disgusted him.

That was what they had planned for the digital world too. He imagind the fields of flowing grass near his home covered by concrete, it's rolling hills crushed by towering skyscrapers that sucked the life from the sky.

He clenched his fists. He wouldn't allow it, even if it cost him his life he would see humanity stopped; becausehe knew that only the presence of the digimon saved the digital world from being crushed beneath humans fleshy footsteps. He could not let the digital world be destroyed.

As the last of the glowing disk of the sun vanished beneath the earth he spun on his heels and flew off on his mission.

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Ciel sat at her desk in her bedroom finishing up on the homework she hadn' been able to finish in class. Her parents had gone out for dinner with a collegue of her fathers and his wife, leaving her alone yet again.

The difficult problem solving only added to her misery. She wished the boys were in the same class, she could call them and find out how to solve the problems.

A strange feeling came over her suddenly, causing her to break out of her blues and look towards the balcony.

She walked over to it and looked out the window. She was shocked to see the pool was completely shrowded in fog.

Frantically Ciel ran downstairs towards the backyard. Did they have the heat on to high? She walked outside to the pool house and checked the setting for the water temperature. They were unchanged.

She left the pool house and walked into the fog towards the pool. Going on her hands and knees she felt anong the ground until she found the edge of the pool. The dipped her hand in the water and found nothing to contradict what she had found in the pool house.

As she leaned closer to try and visually examine the water something shoved her from behind and she fell in.

She felt a sense of vertigo for a moment before she opened her eyes. The pool light allowed her to get her bearings and she scrambled for the surface.

Gasping for air she climbed up out of the pool. Once she caught her breath she looked up to find the perpetrator of her soggy state and found fog covering all she could see. "What is this?"

"You are in the world of shadows."

Ciel spun around to see a small figure standing on the diving board. "Who are you", she asked?

The figure jumped off the diving board and landed in front of her. "I am Black Gatomon, your shadow."

Ciel's mouth fell open and she stared at the little creature shocked. "What?"

-to be continued.

* * *

Okay so this chapter is finally done but and new characters have been introduced. What happens next will determine Ciel's fate.


	9. Me and my Shadow

**Edit: To the Best of my abilities I have corrected mistakes in both punctuation and spelling. Thanks to alamodie for helping with that. I also added or removed some sentences but it doesn't really change the chapter much in anyway except quality and word count.**

* * *

Tamers West

Chapter 9: Me and my Shadow

Ciel couldn't believe what she was seeing. A little cat stood in front of her on two legs and had two large paws that were yellow with purple stripes, clashing with it's black fur.

This was a dream, it had to be, because cats don't stand on their hind legs so naturally, and besides that, cat's don't talk!

Ciel clutched her head. "This is a dream, it has to be a dream."

The cat looked at her dourly. "I assure you this is no dream."

Ciel looked at her desperately. "How did I get here?"

"You came in through a dark portal that was opened by your own thoughts."

Ciel looked at the bipedal kitten bewildered. "Uh, so then, why am I here?"

Black Gatomon grinned devilishly. "You are here to meet someone and to achieve destiny."

Ciel blinked. "What?"

Black Gatomon turned around. "Follow me."

As the digital feline started to walk away Ciel debated whether she should follow or not. She didn't fully trust Black Gatomon, but on the other hand she didn't want to be alone in this dark foggy place so she followed, hoping it was the right decision.

A thought suddenly occurred to her as they exited through the gate leading out of the back yard. 'Is she a digimon? She looks like that one from the cartoon show.'

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Black Gatomon led Ciel down the street towards the beach keeping her senses on high alert lest the shadow try to double cross her but her mind was elsewhere.

She looked back at the blue haired girl who was holding herself while constantly looking around for something to jump at her. It hardly looked like the sort of person that was responsible for all her pain.

Speaking of which, her pain had been largly replaced by a sick uneasy feeling made tolerable by the strange shadow's power.

Black Gatomon's mind was filled with a massive pit of questions that only seemed to be growing as she delved into them. Was Ciel really so scared? Or was it an act now that she realized she had been caught? If she was truly legitimate then how did she not know about the shadow world if she'd been giving her all this pain? Or was she even aware of that?

"How much further?", Ciel asked.

"We'll be there soon", she responded.

A thought suddenly occured to the feline virus: the shadow said that she was Ciel's shadow made manifest and that it was Ciel's pain she was feeling. If that was true, if all her speculation was true then it was no wonder Ciel had made no effort to stop her pain, she wasn't aware of what she had been doing. Also, if she was feeling Ciel's pain, then the one responsible was the one causing pain to Ciel, and consequently her.

Black Gatomon was having second and third thoughts about her deal with the shadow. It was helping her kill Ciel to end the pain, but Ciel wasn't responsible.

She didn't have a problem with killing, in the digital world death was a part of life. She frowned at the contradiction she just made.

When she had been on her own she had witnessed death, both by the hands of others and by her own. Killing unnecessarily went against how she had been raised, even if those who raised her abandoned her in the end.

A scream was heard and she turned around to see Ciel lying on her back looking up in horror at a large shadow like creature.

Black Gatomon gasped. "No!"

**Lightning Paw**

The attack sent the shadow creature flying back and into a fense, stunned. "You alright?", Black Gatomon asked Ciel.

The blue haired girl sat up. "I think so. What was that thing?"

"I don't know exactly", she responded. "But it looks like he has friends."

More shadows had appeared out of the fog around the one Black Gatomon had felled. They let out an unearthly screech and surged towards them.

"Run!"

Ciel didn't argue and followed the fast moving feline as fast as her legs could carry her.

The duo entered a back lane with the shadows hot on their heels. Ciel suddenly grabbed Black Gatomon's arm and dragged her to the left. "This way!" Black Gatomon had no choice but to allow the girl to lead her down between a pair of property fences.

Ciel's surprise change in direction caught the shadows off guard as they clumsily turned to run after the pair.

Ciel looked behind her and saw them coming again. She jumped over the left fence with surprising agility into the front yard then across to jump over the fence on the other side before running back into the back lane.

"Why are you leading us in circles?", Black Gatomon yelled as Ciel dragged her along.

"I know a place where we can hide, and it's easier if they don't see where that is."

After entering the back lane again she turned right then went up against the fence, pushing on a large wooden plank, making it flip inward like a pet door, allowing the two of them to enter the yard.

Ciel moved them to the basement window of the house and pushed it open. Ciel let Black Gatomon enter first then followed, locking the window behind them.

The two sat underneath the window breathing shallow as they waited to see if they had lost their pursuers. After a few tense moments they exhaled a sight of relief, If the shadows knew where they were they would have come already.

"How did you know about this place?", Black Gatomon asked.

Ciel smiled. "When we were little my friends and I used to come here all the time. Mrs. Destinae used to make us cookies."

The digital cat nodded. "We should stay her for a while till they move on."

Ciel nodded in agreement and not wanting to sit in awkward silence decided to start a conversation. "So how's life?"

Black Gatomon gave her a dumb look. "What do you think?"

Ciel looked hurt and she looked to the floor. "I'm sorry."

Black Gatomon's own expression turned to one of regret and she felt the pain increase. Sighing she asked. "What about you? At least you have a life outside of this world."

Ciel wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. "Fine."

Black Gatomon felt the pain almost double. "You're lying!", she growled at Ciel. "I'm your shadow, the dark thoughts that plague you torture me!"

Ciel looked at her in shock, leaning slightly away. "What?"

Black Gatomon was on her feet now, her pain fueling her anger. "The dark thoughts that plague you plague me as emotional pain causes me physical pain because you keep it all locked up, letting it tear you apart inside!"

Tears started to well up in Ciel's eyes and her lip started to quiver.

"You're so selfish! Didn't you ever think that maybe other people were affected, did you think they were only your problems?"

Ciel's tears finally began flowing freely as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

Black Gatomon was panting heavily by now as her anger finally began to subside. She didn't intend to make Ciel cry but it sure felt good to release all of her bottled up feelings, and like her anger her pain began to subside, but at a much slower rate due to Ciels current state.

Ciel sat and cried for a while until she finally turned to look at Back Gatomon with reddened eyes. "What do I do?"

"Stop locking up your feelings all the time and let them out once in a while. Tell your problems to your friends just to get them off your chest, they may even help you."

Ciel shook her head. "I can't do that."

Black Gatomon put her hands on her hips. "Why not?"

"People have expectations of me, I can't disappoint them."

The black digimon crossed her arms. "If they were really your friends then they wouldn't put such expectationis on you."

"It's not my friends I'm worried about", Ciel said quietly. "It's my parents." They want me to be a great dancer, a great singer and an honor role student. I'm suposed to be their 'Perfect little girl'."

Black Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not exagerating and all this pressure you've put on yourself is a product of your imagination?"

Ciel pulled her knees up to her chest. "Maybe."

"And besided that, if your friends aren't a problem then why haven't you talked to them?"

"Because they would tell my parents and then-"

Black Gatomon cut her off with a raised hand. "I get the picture. You have to make this stop before all this pressure crushes you. Your parents might not even know their doing this to you, and if something happens they'll realize it and it will devistate them even more. Do you want that?"

Ciel thought back to her suicide attempt; how worried and hurt her friends had been when they stopped her. She couldn't imagine how much worse it would be for her parents.

She looked back at Black Gatomon with a genuine smile and before the little digimon could react, trapped her in a hug. "Thank you."

"Uh, yeah don't mention it", the feline strained as Ciel squeezed her.

Upon her release she dusted herself off and climbed up to the window. "Looks clear, we should try for the beach." She began to open the latch but Ciel stopped her.

"They'll expect us to come out that way. Let's go out the side door."

Once again Black Gatomon found herself the one being led as Ciel pulled her up the stairs to the kitchen and after a quick check outside they went out the side door, then allowed her to take over and lead them to the beach.

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Ciel constantly looked around for any sign of those shadow creatures as Black Gatomon led her down the road to a riverside beach. She still didn't know exactly why they had to go to the beach, but she trusted her furry companion.

The fog was much thicker by the water, almost hiding the actual river from view.

Black Gatomon raised her paw indicating her to stop while she continued walking until she stood a meter from the water's edge.

Ciel watched in curiosity and then in shock as she saw an inky blackness crawl along the waters surface towards the shore, but never actually touching the land.

"So you have come."

Ciel shuddered. The voice was dark and seemed to come from every direction at once.

"I came to tell you the deals off", Black Gatomon said sternly. "I won't kill her."

Ciel jumped back. 'She was going to kill me?'

"You would throw away your great destiny for trivial sympathy for a creature that has caused you immense pain?", the shadow asked in a disturbingly monotone voice.

Black Gatomon nodded. "We're in the same boat, and I want to help her."

"Then it would seem I have no choice then to force you to accept your destiny, for it is too great for you to ignore.

Black Gatomon turned to Ciel, her body shaking with pain. "Run!" Suddenly she shrieked as the pain overwhelmed her and black smoke covered her diminuitive form.

Ciel watched in horror as her friend was swallowed up by the impenetrable black smoke and expand and morph into a more feminine shape. Her knees became weak as the smoke vanished to reveal Black Gatomon's new shape.

It was that of a woman with long white hair and pale skin wearing tight leather clothes, hood and boots, as well as a tattered cape. She had an overall stitched together appearence and she had a very noticable large left claw that seemed too big for her form. She also had chains wrapped around her right arm. Finally, there was an ugly ghost like creature attatched to her neck. There was no more doubt in Ciel's mind, this was a digimon.

"Now Lady Devimon", she shadow growled. "Kill her."

Lady Devimon shuddered for a moment, as thought she were fighting against her master's will, but the strange creature attatched to her neck hissed and it's eyes glowed red, putting a stop to her resistance and she lunged at Ciel.

Ciel jumped back narrowly avoiding the demon woman's massive claw and turned around running.

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Back in the real world things were much calmer, too calm for Amy Straddler, an intrepid young reporter.

The CBC building was humming with activity as the studio broadcasted the six o'clock news.

Runners carried messages and bullitens quietly but quickly, those in the control room were in constant conversaion as they switched video feeds and dialogue for the live broadcast. Others carried coffee to those who could spare a hand to enjoy it while others talked on phones and checked E-mails as more information poured in.

"Isn't there anything going on right now?", she asked as she twirled a pen in her hand.

"Well the weather guys are tracking some wierd fog in Transcona."

Amy twisted in her chair to give the camera man an exhasperated glare. "Cecil, that kind of news wouldn't keep a dog's attention."

Muffled noises came from the other side of the wall as a commercial break started. The CBC building had gone from a hum to a bustle of activity as the network reached it's halfway point in the news broadcast. The runners ran all over the place not having to worry about making noise while others checked camera cables and lights. The director was talking with the news anchors while someone else gave them new papers to view.

Sighing Amy got up to her feet, her blonde hair falling past her shoulders. "I'm going to Timmy's for coffee and donuts."

Cecil stared at her. "Donuts?", he asked dragging out the 'S' to emphasize the word being plural?

Amy snapped around and glared at him with burning saphire eyes. "You wanna say something?"

Cecil held up his hands. "No nothing!"

Amy's lips curled in a snarl. "I didn't think so."

As Amy disappeared around the corner Cecil leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe I should've taken that position in Afghanistan."

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Ciel turned around a corner, barely avoiding Lady Devimon's chain. If digimon were anything like they were in the TV show then the only reason she was still alive was that Black Gatomon was fighting back somehow.

"You can't run forever little girl."

Ciel frowned inwardly as she ran down the back lane. That hideous spectre was wearing on her neves. Suddenly a thought occured to her. 'Is that thing how he's controlling her?'

The blue haired girl turned her head then instantly dove to the ground feeling the wind of Lady's Devimon's attack miss her by scant centimeters.

Looking up from her position on the ground Ciel saw Lady Devimon land gracefully on the ground, her tattered cape settling before she slowly turned around to face the hapless girl.

"I have you now girl", the spectre said grinning.

Ignoring her soreness from her last second evasion Ciel got to her feet and glared back at the spectre as Lady Devimon began to slowly walk toward her.

Spawned from her times watching Elle's fencing classes and playing video games with her friends a plan was born in her mind. It was risky and stupid, but she couldn't think of anything better.

Lady Devimon drew back her large claw, ready to strike.

Ciel summoned all of her courage and fueled it with her anger then with all her might she ran strait towards Lady Devimon!

The spectre grinned. "Yes, come to me."

Ciel braced herself. 'This is it!'

Lady Devimon's claw came down and towards the right. Just as Ciel predicted.

Ciel dodged the other way, causing her to loose momentum but it also made Lady Devimon wide open to attack. She boosted herself off of Lady's Devimon's claw arm which was still embeded in the pavement and grabbed the spectre.

Ciel's attack caused Lady Devimon to lose balance and fall over backwards. Despite the hard fall Ciel never let go of the spectre.

"Let go!", it screamed.

Ciel only tightned her grip. "You first!" She pulled with all her might trying to yank off the hideous creature from her friend.

Lady's Devimon and the Spectre screamed until the little demon was finally torn from Lady Devimon's neck. The spectre let out one last screech before it disintegrated into a thin whispy smoke.

Ciel then looked at Lady Devimon's immobile form, her body quickly turned into black smoke blowing away in the calm breeze to reveal Black Gatomon.

Ciel knelt down and took the little digimon in her arms. "Are you alright?", she asked hopfully."

Black Gatomon groaned and slowly opened her eyes. "You saved me", she whispered in disbelief.

Ciel smiled. "Just returning the favor."

Suddenly a large beam of blue light shot up from the ground a short distance away. "That looks like it's coming from my house!"

"It's the portal to the real world!", Black Gatomon said frantically. "We have to get there quick!"

Almost instantly Ciel was on her feet and running at top speed towards the light, Black Gatomon in her arms.

An inhuman shriek sent a child down her spine, because she knew what it meant. "Are they gaining?"

Black Gatomon peered over Ciel's shoulder to see shadows giving chase. "I think we can make it."

Ciel gritted her teeth as she willed her legs to move faster. She burst through the unlocked gate into her back yard and put all her strength into one last sprint towards the pool.

"Hold on", Ciel yelled to her passenger! Ciel dove head first into the deepest part of the pool, the cold water sending a nasty shock through her body after all the hard running she had been doing.

Already almost at the bottom of the pool she kicked with her legs and stroked with her one free hand and swam through the portal on the pool floor.

A familiar sense of vertigo overcame her and she popped out the other side. The portal vanished, leaving only the pool light as illumination. Still, it was enough for Ciel to quickly get her bearings and she scrambled to the surface.

Gasping for air the two managed to climb out of the pool and onto the stone walkway arund the perimeter of the pool.

"We did it", Ciel managed between breaths.

Black Gatomon turned to lie on her back. "Yeah, we did it."

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Amy sat at a table in the Tim Horton's coffee and donut shop, alternating betwen sips of her famous Tim Horton's double double and her last chocolate glazed donut, deep in thought.

Besides the usual murders and auto thefts for which the city was famous nothing had really happend lately.

Taking another bite of her donut she thought, 'something had to be going on, this city's too quiet.'

Breaking her rhythm by shoving the rest of her donut in her mouth she stood up. Taking another sip of her coffee she noticed people staring at her, mostly guys. The reason was no mystery to her, nor would it be to anyone else.

Her long blonde hair, her saphire eyes attatched to a soft pretty face, her D-cup breasts(wich she speculated were still growing) and well tone waist, legs plus her well sculpted hips and thighs attatched to her supple firm rump. People were just baffled at how she could look so perfect, something that bothered her as well.

Ignoring the looks she went outside into the night air and began her walk back to the CBC station.

She walked along Portage Avenue, one of the city's main arterial roads that was famous for it's ridiculous amount of traffic lights.

Amy thought about why she had stayed in Winnipeg to be a reporter rather than somer other city. She had thought that since that red blob had showed up then there could be other things happening. It seemed wrong that she hoped for disaster, but that was the life of a reporter.

She snapped back to reality and checked her surroundings. When one was walking down Portage Avenue in the city centre, one had to be carefull; especially when you were an extremely attractive girl wearing a tailored suite.

Portage Avenue ran right through the city centre where crime was high and so were the people. She forced herself not to look at the occupants of a bus stop as she passed by, that only caused trouble at this particularly infamous one in front of 'Portage Place', the city's downtown mall.

She remained fully alert until she crossed the street into the CBC station. Inside the bustle had died down as the broadcast continued to preach the news to the citizens of Winnipeg and the surrounding area, mostly about deaths and politics.

Sighing she went up the stairs to her office, hoping ot find something worth looking into. She shared her office with another up and coming reporter named Anne, an auburn haired girl roughly the same age as her.

The room was dark and only had a small window, matching the room itself. Anne's desk was against the adjacent wall while her own was a corner desk against the opposite wall next to the window.

Both desks were covered with papers and pictures, most of which were proving to be useless. As junior reporters they were mostly tasked with finding information on stories and finding new ones. They were mostly back up reporters and would not likely be called out to cover a story anytime soon.

Sighing heavily Amy sat down at her desk and began to sort through the nightmare of papers once more.

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Ciel and Black Gatomon sat at a table in her bedroom, both with towels wrapped around them. Ciel was still dripping after a brief shower to remove the chlorine from the pool and the sweat from her body.

"What do I do now?", Black Gatomon asked out loud.

Ciel looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

Black Gatomon looked her in the eye. "Now that I'm out of the world of the shadows, what should I do now?"

Ciel smiled and took hold of Black Gatomon's paw. "Simple, you stay here with me."

Black Gatomon looked at her astonished. "Do you really think it's okay for me to stay in the real world?"

Ciel shrugged. "Why not? Other digimon apparently have."

Black Gatomon lookd shocked. "Really?"

Uh, yeah." Ciel tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Just how long were you in the world of shadows?"

Black Gatomon shrugged. "Don't know. I lost all concept of time there."

"Well do you remember a big red blob thing?"

Black Gatomon looked at her confused. "Huh?"

Ciel sighed. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Suddenly a bright ball of light appeared over the table between them and settled into Ciel's hand.

Black Gatmon blinked. "Well that was random."

Ciel looked in her hand at a small black device with a sky blue ring around a small screen. "A digivice?"

Black Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"I think it means were partners!", the girl cried excitedly.

"Meaning what?"

Ciel looked up from the device to her now official partner. "I think it means we have to protect this world from evil digimon and stuff."

Black Gatomon grinned and slammed her fist into her open palm. "Sweet, I could use something to pound into the ground."

Ciel frowned and walked to the balcony. "I think I know where we can start."

Her partner looked at her curiously. "What?"

The new tamer looked down at the pool that was now covered by a large sheet of plastic. "When I went to check out the pool just before I was sent to the world of shadows the plastic covering on the poor wasn't there.

Black Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"And when I took a closer look at the pool I was shoved in."

Black Gatomon's expression turned dark. "So the ink spill has some agents in this world too eh?", she said referring to the inky black shadow.

Ciel nodded. "I think so."

Her partner noded. "I think we better find them. I doubt what happened with the two of us will be an isolated incident."

Ciel nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

* * *

**Kay so here's chapter 9 in record time for me. since I got my job anyway. So Ciel and BG are now partners and I know everyone saw that coming. **

**Now before you start yelling at me about the way the digivice appeared I did it on porpose. Usually the digivice appeares at a verry surreal moment but I just put it in at a random time cause that's how I roll. **

**This is where things start getting complicated so It's going to be harder for me to write chapters for this for a while so I'll be working on something else for now. **

**Anyways, R&R and enjoy.**


	10. Princess's Curse

Tamers West

Chapter 10: Princess's Curse

Dokunemon moved stealthily through a network of buildings. He guessed that these were the human's homes from their size and numbers.

Despite how quiet and peacefull it seemed he was on full alert, as though expecting an attack at any moment. Unfortunately he doubted he would have the strength left to fight back.

After following Stingmon through the digital world then into the real world and spending all night wandering around he was almost devoid of strength.

He began looking for a place to stop and rest for a while but where could he go. He had no knowledge about the behaviour of humans. Did they have a territorial nature that would make it dangerous to rest near their homes?

Sighing he knew that at the rate his strength was draining he didn't have a choice, the maze of homes seemed to go on forever.

After a quick peek he squeezed through a hole in a wooden fence into the front yard of another home. Sticking close to the wall he skittered along until he reached the house itself. He dashed quickly away from the fence and against the wall of the dwelling. He looked to his left and spotted a pair of tall metal cylinders standing against the concrete steps that lead up to the front door.

He took one last look around and darted behind the tall metal objects. He listened for a brief while to see if anyone was moving to attack him, he didn't think so. He curled into a ball against the concrete steps and finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

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Ciel stepped out of the shower and reflexively bunched up as the cold air hit her wet skin that had become so accustomed to the warm water with which she had bathed.

She reached over and grabbed a fluffy green towel from the nearby rack and quickly dried herslef off. Once dry she discarded her towel and retrieved her bright yellow housecoat. She tied the belt around her small waist and exited her bathroom.

"Have you finished preening?"

Ciel smiled at her black furred partner. "I've only showered. I still have to pick an outfit and do my hair."

Black Gatomon shrugged. "What's wrong with the way you look now?"

Ciel laughed. "I can't wear a housecoat to school, I'm naked underneath."

The digital feline looked up at her. "Aren't most people naked underneath their clothes?"

Ciel shook her head. "You're just trying to be difficult aren't you."

Black Gatomon grinned. "Keep in mind I'm a part of you."

Ciel rolled her eyes and walked towards her closet. "Well you must have gotten some of my masculine side cause I could swear I was just talking to one of the boys."

Black Gatomon smirked. "I bet they'd like to see you wear it to school."

Ciel sighed in exasperation. "You and the boys are going to get along very well."

"Speaking of which, are you sure you want to tell your friends about me?"

Ciel nodded. "I trust them with my life", she said as she began to change.

Black Gatomon understood that, but she was still curious. "Why are you telling them?"

Ciel stood silent for a moment as though contemplating her answer. Finally she said. "They've been worried about me lately. I thought it might put them at ease. Amongst other things I'm going to tell them."

Black Gatomon smiled and hopped onto the counter in front of Ciel's vanity mirror. "I'm glad you've decided to tell them."

Ciel smiled as she finished dressing. "So am I. I'll breathe easier with less weight on my chest."

Now clothed she walked over and sat in front of her mirror and sighed. "The problem with blue hair is that it's so hard to coordinate colours."

Black Gatomon grinned in amusement as Ciel trolled through her drawers for an appropriate accessory before finally settling on a pair of yellow hair clips. "Now are you done?"

Ciel sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm done."

"Great." As Ciel stood up Black Gatomon jumped onto her back. "I can't wait to see your scool!"

"Just make sure you stay out of trouble", her tamer warned.

"Don't worry about me", her partner chimmed. Then her tone became dark. "I'll become what I am. Your shadow."

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After a few hours rest Dokunemon slowly awoke, still feeling slightly dazed from his long night.

The sun was up now and he forced himself to resist the temptation to abandon his shaded hiding spot and bask in the suns warm glow.

Resigning himself to stay in the shadows for now he began contemplating his next move.

The sound of an opening door and voices caught his full attention and he squeezed into the corner of the house and the steps.

"Have a good day at school", a voice called from inside the house.

"I will", a much closer voice responded. The owner of the last voice suddenly stumbled as he went down the steps, causing him to drop severl thin objects. The human cursed silently and proceeded to pick them up.

One of the curious objects landed near Dokunemon, piquing his curiousity. Braving the possible danger he inched forward to get a better look.

It looked like a card of some sort, but what disturbed him was that there was a picture of Wormmon on it. Why was there a picture of his best friend on this card?

The larva digimon suddenly skittered back as a hand reached in and grabbed the card from the dirt.

As the figure walked briskly away Dokunemon considered his situation. This human knew of Wormmon. But how? And why? Was this human working with Stingmon?

He shook his head, that didn't make any sense. Stingmon was working to either destroy or enslave the humans. Or could it be that Stingmon had his own agenda.

The thought bothered him greatly and he resolved to follow the human to see what he could learn.

He breifly checked his surroundings for threats before chasing after the human.

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Elle casually walked to school gently humming along the way. Of all her close friends she had the longest walk to school despite the shortcuts she had discovered over the last school year.

Her thoughts centered on Ciel who had been acting a little distant since she got back from her vacation. The frigid memory of seeing her best friend holding a knife against her own throat still haunted her.

Determination overcame the anxiety of her friends emotional state. If Ciel didn't talk soon then she would force it out of her. Out of friendship of course. Her silent vow set in stone she refocused on her current task of getting to school.

As she continued on her way she had a peculiar feeling weighing on her shoulders, as though she were being watched. She turned her head and saw a small car travel by her, slowly. This sent shivers throughout her body because the speed limit was fiftey and that car was going no where near that. Her suspicions blossomed into fear as the car sped up as it passed her.

Elle was almost shaking. Was that car being driven by someone stalking her? Panic rose within her and she ran as fast as she could to school, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her mind was blank as instincts took over completely as she ran and quietly chanted. "Not agian, not again."

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It was near lunch time, and Alice was sitting in class working on her math problems. Fairly simple ones but then not everyone adjusted back into the school rutines as easily as she.

She looked from her work and over at Elle who had caught her attention earlier in the day. She had come to class looking rather flustered and had seemed on edge throughout the morning, keeping unusually quiet. He usually soft and smiling face seemed wrought with worry and whatever was bothering her was distracting her from her work.

The bell indicating the start of the lunch break sounded and Elle jumped in her seat. She seemed high strung today. Even though she didn't know Elle very well yet it was still unusual.

"Remember I'll be checking for homework first thing tomorrow's math class." Their teacher said as they left.

Alice waited for Elle to leave first then followed her to the locker they shared. She glanced to her right to see Ciel doing the same with a worried look on her face.

Alice waited as Elle opened the locker before asking her. "Are you alright Elle?"

Elle snapped her head in surprise but quickly put on a smile. "Sure, I'm fine."

Alice and Ciel were not mislead by the fake smile. "What's really wrong?" Ciel asked insistently.

Elle's smile vanished and she looked down, unwilling to answer.

A hand genlty fell on Elle's shoulder, triggering an instant reaction. Elle screamed and leapt forward to be caught by Ciel, latching on tight.

Ciel and Alice looked at Jeff who wore a look of shock and puzzlement. Behind him Mike and Xander were equally bewildered.

Alice looked at Elle and instantly felt a heavy weight in her stomach. The girl's eyes were filled with something she hadn't seen since the D-Reaper. Pure Terror.

Elle was being gently held in Ciel's arms, shaking in fear and breathing labourously as the blue haired girl tried to calm her down.

"Elle just calm down", Ciel said gently. "Calm down now it's just the boys. Just calm down and tell us what's wrong."

Elle managed to stop shaking and her breathing became more relaxed but the terror in her eyes remained and her grip did not loosen.

"They're after me again. I saw them."

Ciel and the boys faces fell. They clearly knew what she was talking about. Alice however did not and was concerned.

Ciel gently pulled her away. "Come on we'll go gor a little walk and you can tell me about it."

Elle swallowed and managed a small nod, silently giving Ciel permission to lead her away down the hall.

Alice moved to follow but Jeff grabbed her arm.

"Don't. It's best if they talk alone."

Alice frowned. Elle had been so nice to her, she didn't want to just leave her. Still they knew what was going on more than her so she reluctantly nodded.

Skye walked up to the group looking in Elle and Ciel's direction as they disappeared down the hall. "Is something wrong with Elle?"

The three boys looked at each other, silent messages passing between them.

"We'll explain outside", Jeff said. He turned to Alice. "Mind getting her lunch kit?"

Alice nodded and grabbed Elle's lunch box from the locker before locking it up and following the rest outside.

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Dokunemon paced back and forth on the roof of the large building he had followed the human to and couldn't help but feel he was wasting his time. The human had been inside for hours.

'Maybe I should have just gone back to looking for Stingmon', he thought bitterly for what seemed like the hundredth time.

A loud ringing suddenly filled the air and Dokunemon instinctively dove for cover. For several seconds he stayed perfectly still, trying to figure out what just happend. Had an alarm been raised in response to his presence? Cautiously he moved from his hiding spot and peered over the edge of the roof.

Humans poured out of the building and relocated themselves to the grassy fields surrounding it. He would have to get down in order to find the one he was looking for.

He moved to a different side of the roof where he saw no one on the ground below. He slipped over the lip of the roof and cawled strait down until he was about two meters off the ground where he jumped off and dashed into the bushes.

He looked around back where he came to see if anyone had seen him. Confident his presence was still unknown to the humans he crawled along the edge of the bushes to try and find the human he was looking for.

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Just a little ways from where Dokunemon was, Technowizardmon and Commandramon sat in a secluded spot in the brush on the west side of the school. A single ray of sunlight shining on the pages of the book Tech held in his hands allowing him to read easily in the shade of the trees.

Across from him Commandramon sat cross legged with his assault rifle in his lap. He had been quiet for most of the time they had been there. He was seemingly more interested in the foliage of the real world and the maintenance of his rifle. In the last hour however he had becom more talkative, apparently running out of things to occupy his mind.

"Aren't they coming out yet?"

"Any moment", Tech answered as he turned another page. "But we still have to stay hidden."

Commandramon looked at him appalled. "Why? I thought that was why they were coming out."

Tech shook his head. "They are coming out because that's what they and their friends always do."

Commandramon crossed his arms in irritation. "Terrific, we sit out here doing nothing and they don't even come to say hi."

Tech looked up from his book. "They have to maintain the illusion that their lives havn't changed, otherwise people will get suspicious."

The cyborg digimon grumbled something but Tech ignored him.

_'Come closer. You both might want to hear this.'_

Tech bookmarked his page and stood up, catching the other digimon's attention. "Come, there's something they want us to hear.

Eager to move Commandramon shouldered his assault rifle and followed. "Not that I don't like it, but that telepathy thing you and your partner have kinds creeps me out."

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Xander trailed behind Jeff as they exited the west side doors and made their way to their usuall place by the trees near the bush.

_'Come closer'_, he told his partner through their link. _'You might want to hear this.'_

They reached their destination and they all sat down on the grass facing the two blondes that sat down across from them. He hoped they were close enough for the digimon to hear.

"So what's this about"?, Alice asked.

All three boys sighed heavily, the wieght of the subject wieghing down on them.

Jeff took it upon himself to begin. "Ever since Elle was little she's always been, well, pretty. That's why her dad and sometimes we call her princess."

One day when she was about six she was in the park with her mom and little sister. We and Ciel were coming too but our moms all wanted to walk there together so we were a bit behind. Just before we got there something happened.

**FLASHBACK**

Elle was in the sandbox on her hands and knees, being careful not to press her blue skirt into the sand with her knees. Her mother was a little ways away pushing her little sister on the swing.

Elle dug into the sand with a small plastic shovel and piled the sand she dug up and smoothed it out with her hands. Once she had developed a large mound of sand she began to poke holes into the sides with her finger to simulate windows.

"Mommy lookit my castle!"

Her mother looked over and smiled. "That's very nice sweety. Don't forget to dig a moat for it. A princess like you has to feel safe. Maybe when the boys get here they can be your knights."

"Don't worry mommy, I'll make one right now." She responded. "And the boys think that stuff is yucky."

Elle began diging a crude ditch around her mound and looked back at her mother. A stranger was suddenly talking to her as she held her younger sister in her arms. Elle ignored it and went back to her digging.

Almost right after a shadow covered her, prompting the little girl to look up. A young man in a black jacket standing over her.

"Hi there little girl", he said as he knelt down. "Are you here by yourself?"

Elle pointed. "Mommy's over there." She paused then added, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Don't worry", he told her. "I'm a friend."

Elle looked at him curiously. "Of Mommy's?"

He shook his head. "No, of your dads."

"Oh, well, then I guess it's okay." She sat down with her legs spread out in front of her. "Are you from daddy's work?"

He shook his head. "No from school. A long time ago."

Elle looked down at her feet and noticed he had taken one of her little pink sandles off and was holding one of her feet in his hand. She flinched but her spoke softly to calm her down.

"Don't worry I won't hurt you."

Elle relaxed and he began rubbing the bottom of her foot. She smiled as the sensation worked it's way through the rest of her small body.

"You like that eh?"

Elle giggled. "It makes me feel all funny."

Glancing to his right he stood up and began looking around.

Elle also got to her feet. "What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

He looked down at her. "Nothin'." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. "Here."

He dropped the wrapped candy bar on the ground in front of her and Elle bent over to pick it up.

Just as she grabbed it she felt the back of her skirt lift up and heard a click.

She stood up and turned her head to see the man running away down the path.

Elle stood silenlt for a moment, puzzled until her young, tender, fragile mind finally registered what had happened.

**END FLASHBACK**

"We were just entering the park when we heard the scream", Jeff said as he finished.

"By the time we got there she was a shaking sobbing wreck", Mike added solemnly.

"And that's just the tip of the iceburg" Xander continued. "This kind of stuff has happened a lot to her since then."

The two blondes sat unmoving as they digested the shocking information about their friend. Their first at this school, the sweet girl who had approached them both and accepted them into her group. To hear that such things had happened to her was heartbreaking.

Alice's gut was churning with angy emotions at the thought of someone vile enough to do something so heinous to someone so sweet.

"Will she be okay?" Skye asked.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah, this time nothing really happened from what I can tell. It was just a scare so she should recover pretty quick."

Alice frowned. "She had heard of such things happening before, in the news or through word of mouth, but learing it had happened to someone she knew made it seem so much more real. It frightned her to think about how easily it could have happened to her.

"It just seems so sad that such a sweet girl like Elle", Skye said sadly. "Who would've thought that being pretty would bring so much sadness."

Xander nodded. "Yes, a blessing from God and a Curse from the devil. Elle could have been a vain conceited wretch, but she's a sweet girl and God blessed her with great beauty. Obviously it didn't sit right with Satan so he sends this kind of crap her way, to make her blessing into a curse."

Skye scowled. "It's despicable."

Mike shrugged. "It's the devil. What do you expect."

"Anyway", Jeff interrupted. "These kinds of things happen to Elle and we try to watch out for her. It's going to be even worse now that she's-." Jeff paused and looked awkward, like a boyfriend trying to tell his girl that she actually did look fat in the outfit.

"Blossoming?", Xander offered.

Jeff swallowed nervously. "Uh, yeah."

"The good news", Mike began. "Is that as far as we can tell it's the same few guys that seem to be stalking her, but these guys are good and we can't prove anything so they havn't gotten behind bars."

Alice looked thoughtful. "So, if we get proof or find some way to get rid of them then Elle will be safe."

"That's the idea", Jeff said. "But there's not much we can do at the moment, we've never gotten a picture of them and no one knows where they live."

Xander crossed his arms. "So we're forced to just sit and wait."

"I believe someday something will happen that will help bring them down."

Everyone turned to look at Skye who wore a very determined look on her face.

"Scum like that doesn't deserve to see the light of day. They have to be brought down. Someday, someone will do it."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Someone like who?"

Skye turned her head and looked up into the blue heavens above. "Someone."

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Ciel said nothing as they wandered around the grassy field with one arm holding on to her friend. Elle's recounting of the events that had been plagueing her mind all morning had just finished and she seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

"I'm sure everything will be alright", Ciel said at last. "You're not a little girl anymore so they shouldn't think about trying to take you."

Elle looked up at her with a dark expression. "Teenagers get kidnapped all the time. Don't tell me that I'm safe just because I'm turnig thirteen this year."

Ciel sighed. "Sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up."

Elle looked down to her feet. "I'm okay now. I just had a little fright, that's all."

Ciel patted her friends hand. "Better safe than sorry. Don't worry about it."

"Ciel!"

Ciel turned around to see a familiar face walking alongside someone else. "Richard, I was wondering what happend to you. I didn't see you at all yesterday."

Richard shrugged. "Sorry I was spending time with Hanse here", he said indicating to the other boy.

Ciel smiled at the blonde boy. "Hello Hanse, I'm Ciel and this", she tilted her head towards the girl who was still holding on to her. "Is Elle."

Hanse executed a short bow. "A pleasure."

"As long as were together", Ciel said. "We might as well join the others and all have lunch."

Richard shrugged. "Why not."

Beaming Ciel led them away from the crowded grassy field to the more deserted west side where the others were waiting.

As they approached she could make out the boys, Alice and Skye.

"Hey there", Mike said as they approached.

"Hanse, Rich", nice to see you again", Jeff greeted.

Elle sat down and Alice held something out to her. "I brought your lunchbox."

Elle brought her hand down on her head. "Oh I completely forgot, thanks Alice."

Ciel smile as she took her seat against one of the trees. The mood was so light and cheerful right now. This was the perfect time.

"Everyone."

The tweens ceased their conversations immediately and all looked at Ciel.

"I have one more person to introduce to you today."

Everyone looked confused and began looking around, amungst themselves and out beyond into the field.

Mike was the first to ask. "Uh, who?"

Ciel grinned and looked at the ground just past her feet.

Everyone else followed her gaze in puzzlement.

Suddenly her shadow became impossibly dark, the grass vanishing within it. Then something began to rise out of her shadow. First two pointed ears then a small furry head, then body.

Everyone's faces were filled with shock, some of them looked like they were going to wet themselves.

The little figures opened it's eyelids to reveal glowing red eyes. "I'm Black Gatomon. Nice to meet you."

* * *

Okay so ten is up and Elle's curse and blessing. Black Gatomon reveals herself and I completed an update. Sorry for the wait.


	11. Dokunemon's Quest

Tamers West

Chapter 11: Dokunemon's Quest

The children sat in stunned silence, all eyes on the black furred feline that had seemingly sprouted out from Ciel's shadow.

Ciel's face posessed only a warm smile, while the new comer wore a mysterious grin.

"If all human's shut up this easily I could start a buisness", Black Gatomon jeered.

Being the first to snap out of the shock and being the one to always have the last word Mike retaliated.

"You'd never get rich off me."

The digimon's response was a smirk, but no words.

"You're a tamer?", The question was from Alice. "For how long?"

Ciel looked at her watch. "Oh about half a day."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "So just last night?"

Ciel sighed. "It's a long story."

The subtle signs on her face said that she didn't want to talk about it, at least not now, but in her eyes there was something else.

"Something bothering you?", Elle asked.

Ciel took a deep breath. "There's something else I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

She put a closed fist next to her throat.

To most people th gesture would seem to have no clear significance, but for the four who had almost been witness to her death by her own hand, it felt as though a ton of bricks landed in their stomachs. The cold dreaded memories of that terrible day rising to the surface.

"What I told you was only half true."

Ciel looked at them and saw the 'I already knew' look on all their faces. As for the others not in the know, they had only looks of confusion. She wished she didn't have to talk about this in front of them, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to work up the courage a second time.

"I was feeling a lot of pressure from everyone's expectations. It felt so overwhelming that I... broke. So, well, you know the rest."

They nodded, but if it weren't for the fact that they had saved her life they wished they didn't.

Ciel gently grabbed her partner and set the digital cat on her lap.

"Black Gatomon is my shadow. Created from my dark thoughts and emotions."

Mike winced. "That's kinda creepy actually."

Black Gatomon having never lost her smirk asked. "Too scary for you? Need your mommy to hold your hand?"

"Gatomon that's mean", Ciel berated. "And I don't think that's what he meant."

"Then he should have said something different", she countered.

Ignoring her partners smart aleck remark she judged the faces of those around her.

Xander's face showed deep thought and calculation. Jeff's expression was a bit more animated, rapid eye movement indicated how tense he was. Elle's eyes held worry, very much like her. Mike held a frown on his face but his eyes maintained their amused gleam. Oh yes he would enjoy matching wits with Black Gatomon. That was for certain.

"What do you plan to do?" Alice asked.

Ciel looked at her, not fully understanding.

"Pardon?"

"You're a tamer now", Alice said clarifying. "You have to defend the real world from other digimon."

Ciel's mouth opened slightly. "Are there any?"

"Indeed there is."

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Dokunemon watched from his hiding place in the bushes as Black Gatomon rose from the ground, the warm feeling of the sun replaced by a frightning chill.

'A dark digimon here?'

This only seemed to add to the theory that the human was in lead with stingmon. After all he was sitting across from it.

He had been creping along the bush line until he found the small group of humans and the one he had been following among them. He had observed for only a short while before the dark digimon had appeared.

As he continued observing he noticed his... target seemed surprised from the appearance of the black digimon, putting a dent in his theory.

The girl whom the dark digimon (who had addressed herself as Black Gatomon) seemed affiliated with, appeared to be guaging the reactions of those around her.

"You're a tamer? For how long?"

'A Tamer'. The title was charged with meaning for digimon. Before the D-Reaper, most digimon aspired to go to the real world and find a tamer to make them stronger. Others, mostly those who remained after the D-Reaper called it a delusional fantasy. And yet here was one right in front of him. What did this mean?

Dokunemon listned as the girl continued to speak. To what she referred he had no Idea.

"Black Gatomon is my shadow, created from my dark thoughts and emotions."

This caught the larva digimon's full attention. "Is that how she was able to tame a dark digimon?"

This thought spouted a debate within himself. "I don't know if I can trust them, but I can't take Stingmon by myself, I need allies."

His decision made he moved out of cover, moving towards them slowly but as casually as he could manage.

"You're a tamer now. You have to protect the real world from other digimon."

The tamers mouth opened in shock. "Are there any more?"

That was his cue. "Indeed there is."

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Alice and everyone else looked at the new comer stunned. How did a digimon get so close without being detected?

"Wh-who are you?" Ciel asked nervously.

"Do not be alarmed, I come with peaceful intentions. My name is Dokunemon."

Black Gatomon moved herself between the large insect and the humans. "What peacful intentions could possibly bring a digimon to the real world?"

Seemingly unafraid of the suspicious feline Dokunemon moved closer. "I have to come to you with a warning, and to ask for your help."

Black Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "Our help?"

"Warning first", Xander interrupted.

Alice was also curious but alsy very wary. Dokunemon seemed legitimate but did he really come to the real world without ill intentions? She found that hard to believe.

"The warning is about a digimon named Stingmon that I followed to your world. I am almost certain he (and those with whom is alligned) seek your destruction."

Everyone's eyes widened in horror. The noticable exceptions being Alice, Xander and Jeff. They had already heard it from their opponents the other night.

"Why would they want to destroy us?"

Alice winced at Ciel's uncomfortably loud question. 'Is she trying to ask the whold school?'

"That is something else I must find out. The key to that knowledge may very well be Stingmon."

The warning bell interrupted the conversation causing the students to habitually pack up their lunches and scramble inside.

"I'm sorry", Ciel said frantically to Dokunemon. "But we have to go. Gatomon will stay here and keep you company and we'll be back as soon as we can!"

The group of students ran quickly back to the school. Brief looks at each other passed a silent message that no one else was to know about this.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Left behind the two digimon watched them go into the school disappearing until the end of their lessons.

"What is it about that sound that makes them go inside?", Dokunemon asked.

Black Gatomon paused to consider before answering. "You have to be in the real world a while to fully understand", she told him. The truth was that she didn't want to go into a long explanation.

"How long have you been in the real world?"

Black Gatomon shrugged. "I got here last night. I"m Ciel's shadow so I have a lot of residual knowledge." She answered while simultaneously covering the most obvious question.

"Let's move to a more secluded spot." she said.

Dokunemon bobbed his head in agreement and followed her into the bushes. Instantly the both went into a defensive stance. Dokunemon staring up to a taller digimon with a staff and Black Gatomon strait into the barrel of an assault rifle.

"Who are you?" Black Gatomon growled.

"Forgive us for surprising you", Technowizardmon said. "But we weren't sure how you would react."

Black Gatomon looked up at Commandramon. "So you ambushed us?"

"Yeah, cause we did know how you would react in that situation." The cyborg digimon said.

Slowly the four digimon relaxed from their defensive stances and moved under the shade of a large tree.

"So you followed Stingmon to the real world?" Tech asked.

"Yes", Dokunemon replied. "I tried to stop him from coming at all but I was unsuccessfull."

"Don't blame yourself", Black Gatomon told him. Stingmon are skilled fighters and your a rookie level. The fact that you haven't been deleted is impressive."

Dokunemon bowed his head. "Thank you."

Commandramon leaned back against his tree. "Don't be so hard on yourself in the future. You'll only stress yourself out."

Dokunemon cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me asking why did you decide to become tamed digimon?"

Commandramon's eyes narrowed. "I don't like the word 'tamed' to describe us."

Dokunemon bowed his head again in apology. "I appologize. However that is what most of the digimon where I come from call you."

"Besides", Black Gatomon said. "What else would the call us?"

'You being a dark digimon the title probably fits you the most. Even if you are that girls shadow' Commandramon thought darkly.

Tech looked at his book thoughtfully. I believe our partners use he term tamers because most digimon are fairly wild so they must be tamed to be effective partners.

There was silence as each of them relived memories from the digital world of their own encounters with wild and savage digimon. Tech only had to go back to Ogremon and the other digimon he and Xander had faced their first week together.

"Let me rephrase then", Dokunemon said. "Why did you become partnered with a human?"

The other digimon were silent as the thought about it. They hadn't actually decided to follow their tamers.

"It just sort of happened", Commandramon said. "I popped out of his tv, crashed into him and then his pants started glowing. He pulled his I-Pod thing out and it turned into a digivice. Then the rest is history."

Dokunemon frowned. "So simply because a digivice appeared you became partners?"

Commandramon shrugged. "I guess."

"And you didn't refuse?"

The half dino digimon looked as the small green digimon in shock. "It never crossed my mind."

Black Gatomon spoke up. "Having your path laid out clearly in front of you is very rare. Only a fool or a coward wouldn't walk that path."

Dokunemon was silent as he took the words in. Their arguments made sense but how were they able to accept their 'new path' so easily, without a second thought? Considering the worsening feelings towards humans it was even more unbelievable.

It was possible that these digimon were reckless and impulsive but considering their behaviour thus far(with the possible exception of Commandramon) they seemed very calm.

'If the same happens to me, what will I do? What evidence do I look for? How will I know for certain what my path is?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The furious sound of tapping keys fulled the room as busy minds and busy fingers worked diligently.

Dolphin's ginger brows furrowed as he sorted through pages of data that had been collected.

"No matter how much data we collect if we can't interpret it then it's useless."

Even the program that they had used to study digimon and the D-Reaper in Japan didn't seem to make heads or tails of it. It was supposed to create an image of a digimon's data as it travelled through the net as it would appear in the real world. Daisy had used it to repair and rebuild Grani.

So far the the program was only showing the new data as a massive series of lines connecting two points on a large circle, making it almost appear solid.

"Dolphin?"

Pausing from his work the frustrated programmer looked up to see Eric Mackenzie leaning over the cubicle wall.

"Oh Eric. Is something wrong?"

Shaking his head the younger man smiled. "No no, you just looked frustrated so I thought I would give you a pleasant interruption by asking if you and your family would like to come for dinner tomorrow night."

Dolphin was surprised. "Uh..."

"I know it's sudden, but we thought it would be nice to invite you to the neighborhood properly."

The elder man smiled. "Yes that would be nice. It is short notice but I don't think anyone has any plans."

"Great."

A beeping sound coming from Dolphin's computer caught both men's attention.

Immediately Dolphin went back on his computer responding to the alert.

"What is it?" Eric asked.

"The code analysis for the data we scanned", Dolphin replied as his fingers danced on the key board and his eyes sifted through the code.

Suddenly Dolphin's look of intense focus turned to one of shock and horror.

Eric's own face paled. "What is it?"

Dolphin looked at him with a somber expression. "Something I hoped I would never see again."

He grabbed the nearby phone and pushed one of the speed dial buttons.

"I need to set up a meeting right away, we've found something. Sure, twenty minutes is fine."

Dolphin hung up and looked at Eric, seriousness etched into his features. "And we may have found something else."

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Alice was on her feet the second the bell rang, wanting to get outside as soon as possible. The alterior motive being she wanted to get to her locker before the hall became too crowded.

When she got to the locker in her haste she inputed the wrong combination and had to try again.

"Slow down Alice", Elle said as she caught up.

"Sorry", she responded as she finally succeeded in opening their locker.

"I know your excited but you'll only draw attention to yourself if you rush."

Alice sighed. "Sorry."

Elle gathered her things and closed the locker.

"Come on", We'll meet the others first then carry on."

Ciel came up to them smiling. "Right. Black Gatomon's watching him, so there's no need to worry."

Alcie frowned. 'I don't think they fully understand how serious this is.'

"Hey girl."

The three turned to see the boys running towards them.

"What's taking you so long? It's not like we have all day", Mike said irritated.

Ciel put her hands on her hips.

"You need to develop more patience Mike. You'll never keep a girl if you don't develop that valuable skill."

"I'm not even looking for a girl", Mike shot back. He grinned then asked. "Or is it you who's losing patience?"

Ciel crossed her arms. "Hmph. As if you could get me so easily." She walked through the group towards the door. "Now come on, we've waisted enough time." She called to them.

Confusion crossed everyone's features briefly but they shrugged it off and began to follow her.

"Wait for me!"

Everyone stopped and turned as Skye caught up to them.

"Where did you go?" Elle asked her.

"Bathroom", she answered quickly.

"Let's go then", Mike said. "It's not like us to be late."

"To be late we would have had to set up an appointment", Ciel said sternly. "All we said was that we would be back as soon as we could."

Elle frowned. "This wasn't like Ciel. What was up with her?"

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The bell resounding through the air startled the digimon still sitting under the same tree in the bushes.

"What was that?"

"Just the bell", Tech told the worried green digimon. "They should be out any moment."

"Why do human's gather in these places?" Dokunemon asked.

"To get an education", Tech answered. "The real world is far more... complicated than the digital world. It takes more knowledge to live a life here."

The larva digimon clicked his front claws together. "I see."

"Like I said before", Black Gatomon said. "You have to be here a while before things start making sense."

"Although somthings just never make sense", Commandramon added.

"Before they get here though I must tell you both something", Technowizardmon said.

Dokunemon and Black Gatomon turned.

"You can't tell anyone about us yet."

Black Gatomon frowned. "Why not?"

"The identity of our tamers must remain secret for now. This is for their protection."

Black Gatomon looked confused but Dokunemon simply bowed his head. "I understand."

Commandramon pointed out towards the school. "Here they come."

Sure enough the kids were all outside walking briskly in their direction.

Black Gatomon sighed. "Fine, but Ciel's a tamer now too, so she has a right to know."

"She will be told", Tech told her.

Black Gatomon made no response. She simply followed Dokunemon out of the bushes to the place they had been talking before.

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Alice saw Dokunemon and Black Gatomon emergre from the bushes and sit under the trees where they had spoken before lunch break had ended.

She looked at Xander who gave a slight nod confirming her suspicion that the two of them had met Commandramon and Technowizardmon.

The kids all sat down under the trees, waiting anxiously for the discussion to continue.

Dokunemon cleared his throat. "As I was saying: Stingmon likely knows some of the details, including why they are doing this.

Xander tapped his chin. "I've been thinking, and I wonder if Stingmon is just some kind of advance scout."

Dokunemon clicked his front claws together twice. "I remember from observing him just before we were brought to the real world. He was supposed to gather something. Perhaps information."

Xander crossed his arms and thought. "If they follow proper military doctrine they'll send a small force to test our strength and find weaknesses in our defense before the main attack."

Jeff frowned. "Or they might just go for the big push right after. Considering our so called 'defenses' it wouldn't be a bad decision."

"But they might not know that", Mike countered. "So they might be overly cautious."

"Boys."

The three looked at Ciel who wore an expression halfway between amusement and irritation. Like a mother who's children made her breakfast in bed but virtually destroyed the kitchen in the process.

"Why don't we ask Dokunemon what we should do."

All eyes went back on the small green digimon who seemed to shrink slightly under all the attention.

"Well I should go after Stingmon on my own. Once I find out what they're planning I will tell you. Then together we can take him down."

Black Gatomon punched the air. "Gladly."

Dokunemon nodded. "Then I must go."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"What? Now!"

"Yes, I've waisted enough time so I must hurry. Who knows what Stingmon has done since I've arrived."

Just as they were about to protest the little larva digimon jumped into the bushes and disappeared.

"He can't go by himself!", Elle said worriedly. "He could be killed!"

"It doesn't look like there's much anyone can do now." Richard commented. "But it lookes like he knows what he's doing."

Alice frowned at that, she wasn't so sure.

"By the way Ciel", she said. "You should probably keep Black Gatomon a secret. Most people fear digimon after all."

Ciel nodded. I will. But I told all of you because you're my friends."

"Oh trust me we appreciate that" Jeff told her. "Just be careful."

With that, everyone began to disperse and go their separate ways home. Alice however simply stood where she was.

Xander noticed this and turned back around and approached her. For a while he said nothing as she continued to stare in the direction Dokunemon left.

"What are you thinking about?", he asked her. He already had a good idea of what that was though.

"I just feel so useless", she said bitterly.

"We all have times like taht", he told her. "All we can do is keep going."

Alice sighed deeply. "I know."

Another moment of silence passed between them. It felt strangely awkward.

"Would you like me to walk you home?", Xander asked slowly.

Alice was visibly stunned for a moment and a warmth began to work it's was to her cheeks. She unconsciously moved a few stray hairs behind her ear before answering. "Sure."

The two turned around and began walking away togther Xander looking somewhat awkward and Alice slightly embarassed.

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Dolphin waited patiently as the few people who were coming piled into the small room. The last man inside seemed to be observing the room as if checking to see who was present.

A man in his mid or late wenties he wore the usual Black suit and a navy blue tie. His dark brown hair and medium build reminded Dolphin of a secret agent.

He finally closed the door and walked up to Dolphin with an extended hand.

"I apologize for not being able to meet you in person Mr. McCoy. I'm Dereck McKay. I'm the one in command of the Digital Response Division."

Dolphin accepted the hand. "Nice to meet you."

"We'll have time for a more proper introduction later. Right now we need to know what you've found."

He turned around and took his seat with the rest. "I honestly didn't expect results so soon so we are all curious to find out what you've discovered."

Dolphin frowned. "A fragment of the D-Reapers data."

Shock and horror went through the room like a tidal wave.

"What did you say!"

Dolphin went over to a table and turned on a projector connected to a laptop. The image projected on the wall showed the circle with lines running through it in various directions.

"What is that", one of them asked.

"This", Dolphin began. "Is the data we uncovered. It's a map of the net left behind from when the D-Reaper attacked."

He put his finger on a spot on the circle that had a huge amount of lines coming from it. "This is Shinjuku, and this", He pointed to another spot on the opposite side of the circle. "Is Winnipeg."

More shock showed on everyone's features, Dolphin hadn't thought that was possible.

"As you can see", Dolphin explained. "On the net Winnipeg and Shinjuku are on the exact opposite side of the world. And they share the most connections to each other as you can see from the lines. In other were words it's possible that many of the digimon that were supposed to end up in Shinjuku are ending up here."

Looks of frustration and worry crossed the features of his audience.

"It's relation to the D-Reaper", Dolphin continued. "Is that this data was pulled from a kind of digital echo from it's processes that was trapped in the net. This map shows the paths the D-Reaper used to communicate with itself from it's locations around the world. Directly in between here and Shinjuku is the digital world."

Dolphin paused again to take in the reaction. Mostly surprise and worry with a hint of frustration.

"The reason that the barrier between the world is so weak here is for several reasons. The most obvious of which is that the D-Reaper made a big hole when it left. The reason that no digimon are appearing in Shinjuku is because the Juggernaught program that was used to destroy the D-Reaper was used there specifically in the actual hole the D-Reaper created. Here on the other hand it was simply sucked throught that hole and the realworld just reformed over top of it."

Dolphin new it was time to wrap it up, so he made what was probably his most important point.

"This is of course primarily speculation but it fits everything we know and the data we've collected."

Silence decended through the room as Dolphin's presentation concluded.

"Thank you Mr. McCoy", McKay told him. "You and your team are dismissed for the day."

Dolphin was surprised at this, but as the saying went. 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 'Nothing else to say he left the room and began making his way down the hall to the programmers room.

As he walked he thought about something.

'If Winnipeg and Shinjuku are connected then it's possible that the barrier there is weakening because of all the activiry here. Without the tamers digimon how will they stop bad ones from wrecking the city?'

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Takato Matsuki was walking home from school, or hell as he liked to call it. Would it really be so bad if they could make school more interesting. Of course if they only got Kazu's suggestions he would rather it stayed the way it was. He shuddered at the thought of 'Hell' being worse.

Looking at his surroundings he noticed he had wandered into the park.

'What am I doing here?', he wondered.

A thought suddenly occured to him. "What if Guilmon's back!"

The happy thought empowered him as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the hideout.

His heart soared as the small concrete building came into view.

"Guilmon?", he called hopefully.

He wated for a moment, and then another. Finally he gave up and his heart sank. "Who am I kidding, he's not coming back just like that."

Ever since the digimon left his life had gone back to the usual dull rutine it had before the digimon had come. He didn't even wear his goggles anymore, mostly his moms idea.

Saddened he started walking away.

Suddenly a small sound like a light giggle touched his ears. Had it come from the shed? Anxious, even desperate for any sign of Guilmon or any of the digimon he dashed up the stairs and into the shed.

At first he saw nothing different. It was still just as stark and empty as the last time he'd been here. When he looked down the tunnel Guilmon had made when they went to the digital world he spotted a dim glow.

Curious he ventured carefully closer to the tunnel until he saw a sight that thrilled him to his very core.

It was a portal to the digital world! Now they could go get their digimon back!

"I gotta go tell the others!"

With newfound strengh and adrenaline pumping through his veins he ran as fast as he could back home.

* * *

**So I finally updated after what seems like forever. I got my wisdom teeth taken out recently but still I'm ashamed at myself. Anyway I'm pleased to present this latest chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**


	12. Not just another Night

Tamers West

Chapter 12: Not Just another night

"That's a wonderful idea!"

Alice sat on the couch in the living room as her grandfather was telling the family about the invitation that the Mackenzie family had extended to them. Her mother was extatic.

"It's been ages since we've been invited anywhere", her mother continued. "It'll be so nice to get out."

Dolphin leaned towards his son and whispered. "I think that's a hint for you."

At this point Alice was convinced that she took after her father.

"Aren't you excited Alice?"

The sandy blonde girl blinked and looked at her mother.

"Huh?"

"He just started walking you home from school and you're already going to his house for dinner."

Alice felt an inferno burning on her cheeks as they flushed to a deep crimson.

"Mom!"

Her father blinked. "What was that?"

"Oh you remember Xander don't you? Her mother said. "He walked Alice home today, it was adorable."

Alice felt the heat from her cheeks spread out to the rest of her face. She remembered all to well what happened when she got home.

Flash Back

Alice and Xander were waling up the walk to the front porch of her home, wrapping up their small talk as they stepped up the stairs.

"This is fine", she said as she turned to face him. "Thanks for walking me home", she added with a shy smile.

Xander scratched the back of his head. "Yeah it's uh, no problem."

An awkward silence passed between them as they avoided direct eye contact. The silence was quickly broken when the door opened.

"Welcome home Alice", her mother greeted. "Hello Xander. Did you walk Alice home?"

Alice's eyes widened in panic. She knew where this was going. 'Say no, say no', she silently pleaded.

"Uh yeah, I did."

Alice flinched as though she had been physically struck.

"Oh, how sweet", he mother gushed.

She pulled Alice close to her and put a hand on her head.

"In our family blonde hair is actually a dominant gene in the women. All my sisters and my mother are blonde."

"Oh? How interesting."

Xander- Alice could tell, looked awkward, and was just being polite while looking for an escape.

"And Alice is smart too. She was always one of the highest in her class and she's so talented."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you play?", he asked Alice.

"Piano", her mother answered for her. "And she plays it so well."

"That's, uh, great."

"Would you like to come in? We just made cookies."

"Thanks but no thanks", Xander said as politly as he could manage. "But Mom will get upset if I spoil my dinner and I need to head back home. Maybe some other time."

She nodded. "Alright, till then."

Alice saw relief wash over Xander's face. "Alright then bye Mrs. McCoy, bye Alice."

Alice watched as he ran down the path to the side walk.

"That reminds me did Alice tell you she could cook?"

Alice stared up at her mother with a look of total shock and bewilderment from her outburst.

Xander came to a stop just before he reached the sidewalk and slowly turned around.

He looked at the older McCoy, and then at Alice.

"You can cook?"

Alice felt so embarassed at the moment, but what her mother said was none the less true.

"Yes but I can't do it very well-

"She's just inexperianced", her mother interrupted. "I guarantee in a few years time she'll be able to match the culinary skills of any house wife."

Alice just wanted to disappear at that moment realizing what her mother was implying and Xander being as clever as he was probably figured it out as well. He was probably running away in a panic.

She dared to look up and what she saw surprised her.

Xander had remained standing where he was. He was looking at her with an expression she didn't quite recognize.

Was it awe? Surprise? Admiration?

The lad managed to recompose himself.

"Uh, that's great but like I said I have to go, so uh, se ya."

Alice watched somewhat deflated as he ran down the street. But not too quickly she noted.

Her mother sighed. "Oh dear where have the years gone?"

She pulled Alice into a hug. "It seems only yesterday I was changing your diaper. Now you're getting walked home from school, next you'll be in college and soon we'll be picking out colours for your Nursery.

"Mom", Alice complained with her face aflame with embarrassment.

End Flashback

"Oh, you two looked like the cutest little couple."

Alice's face burned from embarassment. Why did her mother seem inclined to humiliate her so?

Her father noticed her predicament and decided to save her from reaching her melting point.

"Alice, why don't you go upstairs. I noticed you still have some unpacking to do."

Alice felt as though her father had just opened a pressure release valve inside her.

"Thank you daddy."

Alice was swiftly on her feet up the stairs before her mother could protest or embarrass her further.

Once she was gone her father fixed his wife a hard stare.

"Was all that really necessary?"

She looked at him as though she didn't know what he was talking about.

"What did I do?"

"Oh please Carol you were embarassing her."

"Oh, Andy I was only teasing."

"Well it didn't seem that way to Alice", he scolded. "She looked like she was going to self-destruct."

A look of guilt washed over Carol's face. "I was just trying to break her barrier of insecurity."

Andy crossed his arms. "Well I think you just re-inforced it."

"Oh I don't think I..."

"She's going to be uncomfortable going into a relationship if she knows you're going to embarrass her, or become too involved in HER relationship."

"I was just trying to help her get started."

"Maybe you should go talk to her", Dolphin said.

Carol sighed, feelings of guilt and regret washing over her. "Yeah, I should."

Takato's legs were burning by the time he reached home.

"Okay so Henry was right, I need to get in better shape."

"I seem to remember saying the same thing."

Takato looked up surprised but not pleasantly so. "Oh, hey mom", he said nervously.

'Oh great now she's got more ammo to get me into that gym.'

"What are you doing out so late Takato?", She scolded. "The suns almost set."

Takato entered his 'super babble mode' (as Rika had christned it) trying to explain himself to his mother.

"Oh, well Kenta finally beat Kazu at cards and Kazu said he cheeted and that started an argument so I said they should settle everything by having a tournament but then they made me referee so that's why I'm late."

Despite telling the truth it obviously wasn't a good enough reason for his mother.

"You put off your homework to referee a fight between your friends? And of all those two?"

Takato sighed. 'There she goes on about homework again.' "Mom that's not very nice."

It was no mystery that Kazu and Kenta were looked down upon and why. Kazu obviously for his impulsive and generally irresponsible nature. And Kenta who despite being more rational was still foolish enough to assist Kazu with his schemes.

Without warning his mother grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the bakery.

"Right after supper you're going to stay in your room until your homework is done."

"Aw mom".

"Don't 'aw mom' me mister. You've been slacking off long enough."

"Can't I make a few phone calls first."

"Not until after you're finished your homework."

"But mom, it's important."

"Then you better hurry up and finish Takato. Whatever it is it can wait till then."

Takato thought of telling his mom it was about the digimon but thought better of it because she would freak out. 'Probably wouldn't change her mind either way.'

"By the time I'm done it'll be tomorrow before I can call anybody."

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Stingmon stood atop the Fort Gary Hotel unable to stop himself from admiring the building. It's stone statues and attention to detail, but mostly the sheer presence of the building was awe inspiring.

"What about this building facinates you so much that you would lower your guard?"

Stingmon turned to his just arrived six legged associate.

"I mearly appeared off guard", he countered. "You're fortunate that you announced yourself Searchmon or you would have sprung my trap."

Searchmon chuckled in amusement. "My primary duty is to observe and to conceal the presence of my allies. I could tell if you had your guard up or not."

"Speaking of the former, it proved most useful in hiding our presence today."

It is my specialty", Searchmon stated proudly. But it was your skills that uncovered this critical information."

Stingmon nodded. "Yes we discovered there is indeed still at least one tamed digimon in the real world. I believe we should just eliminate it and that troublesome Dokunemon."

"No, we were told to not engage any tamed digimon except in self defense."

We could defeat them easily", Stingmon argued strongly.

"Don't underestimate them", Searchmon warned. "And don't forget that it's a dark digimon you would be facing."

Stingmon grunted.

"Don't let you impulsiveness be our downfall", Searchmon told him.

"The brotherhood cannot fall to the like of them. Weaklings who bow before the wills of humans."

"Be wary Stingmon", Searchmon said harshly. "These 'weaklings' defeated the devas, callenged the Sovreign and helped defeat the chaos. To call them weaklings is an insult to our cause."

Stingmon snorted. "You forget that all of those are nothing more than rumors."

"Rumors that our leaders have listned too. It is better to be safe than sorry."

Though not convinced Stingmon finally let the argument go.

"Fine, but Dokunemon must be dealt with."

"Agreed. He cannot be allowed to interfere."

"Then you will seek him out, and I will destory him." Stingmon tightned his fist. "He is as good as deleted."

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"I'm home", Xander announced as he entered the house.

His mother emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron. "Where have you been?", she asked worriedly.

"Sorry", he said. "I walked Alice home and the police were blocking the road so I had to make a detour."

His mother frowned. "Is that what all those flashing lights were? Near the old park?

Xander winced inwardly. He had to avoid as much outside expression as possible. His mother could read him like an open book.

"Yeah."

She looked into his eyes breifly then seemed satisfied with his answer.

"All right then. Your father is getting groceries but if he get's here on time we'll be having supper in about half an hour."

"Kay, I'll be in my room till then", he said as he began to ascend the stairs.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Realizing what he had forgotten Xander rushed back down the stairs and gave his mother a hug.

"That's better",she said.

"Sorry mom", Xander apologized. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"I noticed. So what's so troubling that would make a boy forget to hug his mother?"

He frowned. "I'll tell you over dinner."

His mother nodded. "I look forward to it."

"We'll see", was his reply as he went up the stairs.

He entered his room and immediately turned on his computer before dropping his bag on the floor.

"Are you doing to talk about the behaviour of Alice's mother?" Technowizardmon asked.

"Yes."

"Excellent, I would also like answeres. I was unable to understand what she was doing."

Xander sighed. "Tech, what did I tell you about females?"

"That when angry they become the most fearsome creatures on the planet?"

"Besides that and that last one doesn't apply to all of them."

"That they are impossible to understand?"

"Bingo, and that one does apply to all females."

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"Can't catch me", a little boy yelled as he ran through a maze of plastic toys scattered all over the floor.

"Oh yes I can", an older feminine voice yelled from behind him.

The little boy squealed in delightful surprise as he was picked up by his older sister.

"I got you now you little monster", Elle growled playfully as she pulled her little brother against her. "Now it's the high chair for you."

She walked over from the living room into the dining room and put her little brother beside his twin in the double high chair.

Her mother walked in carrying a platter of turkey and looked relieved to see the toddlers in their high chair.

"Oh thanks for getting the twins dear", she told her daughter gratefully.

"No problem", Elle replied.

The sound of the front door opening caught the young girls attention.

"Daddy!"

Elle rushed over and hugged the large man who just entered the home.

"Hello Princess", he said as he gently wrapped his arm around her and began stroking her hair with the other.

"Nice of you to come Marty", Elles mother said as she placed the turkey on the table.

"Sorry honey", he replied. "There was an accident on the way so I had to make a detour.

She nodded. "Well then wash up it's time for dinner."

Elle frowned at her mother. "Mom he just got home from work."

"Yes I know dear", she answered. "But that doesn't mean we should wait till dinner gets cold before we start just because daddy got home late."

Elle sighed. "Yes mother."

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Alice opened another box as she gradually unpacked her things from the cardboard containers that were strewn around the room.

She reached inside and felt something soft and pulled it out.

It was her old brown teddy bear with a red bow around it's neck.

She remembered holding the stuffed animal when she was little. She would hold it tightly when she cried or felt like she needed a friend.

"Alice?"

The young girl didn't turn. She knew who it was.

She heard her mother sigh and walk towards her.

Alice remained silent and kept her back to her. The only movement she exibited was pulling the bear against her chest.

Her mother kneeled down behind her and slowly wrapped her arms around her daughter.

Alice briefly contemplated pushing her off but couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I'm sorry Alice", she said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Alcie let out a small breath. "I know."

"But I am your mother and I have to help you. That doesn't mean it's always going to be pleasant."

Alice nodded.

"Such as telling you you're a bit insecure."

Alice stiffened and turned her head to look at her mother with wide eyes.

"What?"

Her mother sighed. "That whole thing was as much about testing you as about teasing you. You need to develop more confidence socialy, and now that you have so many friends this is the best time. Now you have people you can open up to, people you can trust.

She leaned forward and whispered. "And, 'he' might be the best place to start."

She didn't need to clarify who 'he' was, they both knew and Alice turned a light shade of pink.

"Mom", she whined.

"I'm not teasing this time Alice", she said seriously. "You seem closest to him and besides you need to start learning about the oposite sex. You're at the age now where you have no choice."

Alice rested her chin on the teddy's head

"Besides", her mother said slyly. "He likes you."

The pink tinge on Alice's cheeks darkened to a deep crimson. "Mother", she whined again.

"I'm only teasing you a little bit this time", she said. "You saw him stop after aIsaid that you could cook. What does that tell you?"

Alice shrugged. "That he likes a girl who can cook?"

Her mother gave an exaggerated nod. "Yes but it also indicates that he's into the domestic type. You know; a housewife, a stay-at-home-mom."

Carol examined Alice's expression and determined that she was thinking seriously about this.

"Once you bypass all of your old defenses I'm sure you'll start gaining some confidence."

Alcie looked at her mother with some confusion and a little curiousity.

Taking the hint her mother explained.

"Before, whenever you were bothered by something or you were hurt, or even when you were sad you acted indifferent, you seemed... blank... expressionless." She smiled. "Thankfully since we moved here I can't recall seeing that." She paused then corrected herself. "Not after your first day of school anyway."

Alice once again rested her chin on the teddy as she felt a bleeding pain resulting from her mothers words. Not because they were hurtful, but because they were true."

It was true that, that had been how she had suffered through many things in her life. Including school and... she fought back tears as the horrible memory of losing her best friend.

She felt a hand begin gently stroking her hair.

"Just try to learn to be more open", her mother said softly. "You will be so much happier."

Her mother planted a gentle kiss on her cheek then left Alice alone with her thoughts.

Not fully comprehending the silent message she knew her mother had left she began mentally reviewing the highlights of their conversation.

'I'm sorry.

'I am your mother and I'm here to help you.

'You need to develop self confidence.

'He might be the best place to start."

This made her face heat up again. 'Why him, why not another girl? Wouldn't it be easier?

'You need to start learning about the opposite sex.'

Was that what it was about? She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I guess he is the one I'm closest to outside my family so it would make sense."

A bubble of doubt began forming in the pit of her gut.

"But what if he doesn't like me the way mom says, or if her gets to know me and finds out he doesn't like me as much as he thought?"

Alice shut her eyes tightly at the thought of such rejection. She wouldn't be able to handle it.

She let out a grunt of frustration. "I need to talk to someone."

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"Xander", Maria called. "Supper."

Almost a full minute passed before Xander finally came down the stairs.

"Hi dad", he greeted when he saw his father sitting at the end of the table.

"Hi son, how was your day?"

Xander paused for a moment to consider before answering.

"It was... different."

Eric looked curious. "How so?"

"Let's say grace first", Maria told him.

The family bowed their heads as the blessing was said then began their meal.

"So how was today different?", Eric asked again.

Xander decided to leave out the appearence of Dokunemon and Black Gatomon.

"Well firstly Elle had another scare today."

His parents looked alarmed.

"Did anything happen?" Maria asked worriedly.

Xander shook his head. "No, it was just a scare."

Maria looked relieved for a moment but her expression quickly turned to one of sadness.

"Poor thing. It's so awful that anyone especially such a sweet girl should have to live with that."

Wantng to change the subject he switched to his more immediate concern.

"Then after I walked Alice home from school..."

"You what?" his father interrupted."

"Eric", Maria scolded. "Don't interrupt."

Xander paused to gauge the expressions of his parents. He could only make out surprise from his father and irritation from his mother from his fathers interruption.

"Anyway", he continued. "I walked Alice home and we were just about to say good bye when her mom showed up out of nowhere."

He noticed his parents stiffen. In anticipation? Or did they already know what was going to happen? He moved on.

"There was the introduction, then she said it was nice of me to walk Alice home."

That was paraphrasing but it meant the same thing.

"Then she started talking about Alice like she was a used car", he said with a hint of anger.

Maria rested her chin on her hands thoughtfully as she assesed her son.

'Is he upset that a friend was being talked about that way or her? He wuld be angry either way but which is it?'

"I think she believes that there was much more going on then you just walking her home." Eric told his son.

Xander shook his head exhasperated. "We've known each other for less than a week."

Maria shrugged. "Well you are still a little young, she probably just got a little over excited."

Xander stared down at his plate. "I guess you're right. We're to young to even know what love is."

Maria moved her glass to allow Eric to pour her some wine.

"You don't have to know what love is to experiance it."

Xander looked at her. "What are you saying?"

Her glass now filled Maria stared into it's dark contents thoughtfully. Not averting her eyes from the beverage she asked her son. "Why did you walk her from school?"

The boy opened his mouth to speak but no sounds emerged. Why had he walked her home?

"W-well", he began uncertainly. "She's still new to the neighbourhood so-"

"Xander" his mother interrupted. "You're making excuses."

The young boy frowned deeply. He knew that wouldn't work but he was just trying to stall for time until he could figure it out. He had only one vague and unsupported theory.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do", he said at last.

Maria watched him closely as he ate the rest of his meal in silence.

His furrowed brows and the intense look in his eyes told her that he was deep in thought and bothered by something.

Taking a sip of her wine she smiled. That was her boy. As far as he was concerned everything had to have a reason, even if that reason was as simple as having fun it was a reason. Not knowing the reason for why something happened especially something he did bothered him.

He loathed not knowing why he did things, he need to know why he did anything, and simply having fun was the vaguest reason he allowed himself.

"I'm done", Xander announced as he pushed his plate away. "May I be excused?"

Maria nodded. "Of course sweety."

Xander pushed away from the table and went upstairs to his room.

The two parents waited until the door closed before feeling free to talk.

"So", Eric asked his wife. "What's the verdict?"

Maria took another sip of wine. "To early to tell yet. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings."

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Charlotte McCoy sat on the bench on the deck behind the house gazing at the stars, or what few could be seen through the light pollution.

"Grandma?", a small voice asked.

Smiling the older woman turned to see her granddaughter standing in the doorway almost shielding herself with the screen door.

She looked timid. Like she used to act when she was little when being introduced to a stranger.

"No need to be scared Alice, it's only your grandmother", she said teasingly.

A small frown replaced the timid look on Alice's face before she left the saftey of the doorway and sat down beside her.

"You want to talk about something?, she asked Alice.

The young blonde sighed heavily, indicating how much undue stress this was causing her.

Alice didn't bother beating around the bush, her grandmother knew why she was here.

"Mom thinks he likes me."

Charlotte nodded. "He does like you-", she paused to check Alice's reaction.

A red tinge on her cheeks, a nervous look in her eye and she was holding her hangs close to her chest.

"- But not quite like that", she finished.

Alice deflated like a hot air balloon. "What?"

"He most likely walked you home as a friend, or someone who cares for you."

Alice felt disheartened. "Oh."

"But I imagine he has some feelings for you", Charlotte added trying to lift up her granddaughter."

Alice looked thoughtful, probably wondering if she was being truthful or just trying to fill her with false optimism.

Alice subconsciously made her decision. "What should I do?"

Now it was Charlotte's turn to sigh. "You're both too young to start doing anything romantic despite what your mother might think."

Alice nodded and sighed.

'She seems disappointed', Charlotte observed.

"Just try opening up to him and the rest of your friends. It will be like having the world off your shoulders."

Gently Charlotte grasped her granddaughters hand. "Having your heart closed so much tends to make it hard dear. Please remember that."

She released her hand then walked inside the home leaving Alice alone with whatever thoughts she might have, but she only had one.

'How do I become more open?'

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A frustrated Dokunemon crept through the deserted back lane of a familiar neighbourhood.

The area seemed safe enough that he could confidently find a place to sleep.

He wandered into a nearby yard through a hole in the fence and looked around.

The yard was completely surrounded by the wooden fence with a large gate leading into an open field behind the property.

'Strange', he thought. 'Why would they put the homes of the city dwellers on the outside of the city?'

"Oh it's you."

Startled Dokunemon turned and saw the human boy from before. He realized that he had come back to the same house he had slept at the night before.

Dokunemon bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to intrude."

The held up his hands. "No no it's okay, you can stay here if you want."

The small digimon looked up in surprise.

"Oh no I would want to impose."

The boy laughed. "Impose? Please you're risking your life to protect our world, it's the least I can do."

Dokunemon paused to consider. 'It would be nice to sleep inside. More comfortable and safer.'

He bowed his head in thanks. I suppose at this point it would be rude for me not to accept your generous offer."

"Great! I'm Micheal, but you can call me Mike."

Mike reached down and picked up a black plastic bag that lay on the ground beside him.

Just let me put away the garbage and I'll take you inside."

Dokunemon nodded and followed Mike to the two metal clylinders he had slept behind last night.

He opened the top of one of them and dropped the black bag inside before closing it again. This left Dokunemon wondering if sleeping behind them was such a good idea.

He followed Mike to the front door where they paused and Mike looked down at him.

"When we go inside make sure you stay out of sight", Mike told the small worm. "Or we'll both be in trouble. Don't worry though, it'll be me more than you."

Dokunemon was having second thoughts about going inside being safer.

Mike cautiously opened the door and slid inside with the little digimon close crept forward until they reached the end of the entranceway.

Between them and their gateway to the saftey of the second floor was an open hallway that connected the living room, the stairs and the kitchen.

To the left the living room where most of his family sat but he couldn't see his mother.

"Micheal!"

Mike whirled around to face the one person he feared most.

"Mom don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I didn't sneak up on you", she countered. "Did you take out the garbage?"

"Yes", Mike replied irritated.

His mother gave him a smug grin. "See that wasn't so bad was it?"

Mike's irritation migrated to his face. "Anything else?"

His mother rolled her eyes. "No, you can go."

With that said she walked into the living room with the rest of the family.

Mike sighed in relief and looked down behind him where Dokunemon still hid.

"For her not to have seen him there must be a God", he said reverently.

He took another look into the living room and the kitchen before he and Dokunemon bolted across and up the stairs.

They dashed into Mike's bedroom and he locked the door before inhaling a huge sigh of relief.

"We're safe", Mike said. "For a second though I thought she'd seen you."

"Frankly I'm surprised she didn't", the digimon replied.

Mike nodded in agreement. "Anyway this is my room", he said. "You can stay here."

Dokunemon looked around in awe.

A desk with a computer sat at the far end of the room beside a small window. To his left was the bed with a night table, to the right a dresser and a TV with several machines connected to it.

"You have your own living quarters?", Dokunemon asked in amazement.

Mike nodded. "Yep."

He looked around his room. 'Now where's he gonna sleep?'

An idea popped into his head. "Stay here", he told his guest. "I'll be right back."

Mike bolted out of the room closing the door behind him and leaving Dokunemon alone.

The virus digimon looked around the room again. Odds and ends were lightly scattered everywhere, the light blue walls were adorned with posters and the lamenated wood flooring carried a light sprinkling of dust.

Dokunemon felt the vibrations of someone running up the stairs and dove for cover.

Mike entered the room and shut the door.

"It's okay, you can come out."

Cautiously Dokunemon crawled out of his hiding place and approched the human boy who was holding something.

Mike held it out. "It's the old kitty bed we had before our cat got run over."

He set it down between his bed and the night table. "You can use it as a bed and you'll be out of sight right here."

Dokunemon nodded and crawled into bed, turing around three times before settling down.

"If you don't mind I would like to get some rest."

Mike nodded. "Sure, I got to turn in soon anyway. Goodnight."

As Mike left the room Dokunemon had a thought as he drifted off to sleep. 'What would it be like to live here?'

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Alice didn't know where she was, she had just suddenly found herself here.

Everywhere she looked she saw darkness. Only when she looked at her clothless self did she see anything at all. Her entire body was illuminated but she could find no source of light, and despite being naked she didn't seem to mind.

"Is anyone there?", she called out.

Although there was a small reverberation there was no echo and no reply.

Pondering this information she deduced that she was in a room. So there must be walls and hopefully a door.

Slowly she walked forward with outstretched hands searching for the end of the room.

The first sense of joy she had felt since ending up here at last came when her hands touched a cold flat verticle surface.

She began feeling along the wall and after only a few side steps her hand touched a door knob. Or it felt like one anyway.

Anxious to leave the pitch black prison she quickly turned the knob and opened the door. A huge vacuum suddenly sucked her through the door into the next room where she landed on her stomach.

"Ow", she complained as she pushed herself off the floor.

Still on her hands and knees she looked around and just as she had feared she was in another dark room, still only able to see her own body.

Suddenly she noticed a strange sensation on her hands and feet. She brought up one hand and nearly screamed when she saw a black substance on her hand and growing up her arm.

In a panic she tried to wipe the black material off with her other arm but it was also becoming covered by the Black. No matter what she did, it wouldn't come off. She tried harder but that just hurt. It was like the Black was attatched to her skin.

On her lower half the black was up to her hips while the material on her arms now reached her shoulders and was working it's way down.

She felt her belly and chest become covered and when the two parts met it started working it's way up her neck. Slowly, as though mocking her the Black mercilessly worked it's way up to her chin and Alice shut her eyes as it covered the rest of her face.

Suddenly her point of view changed and she now saw herself on her hands and knees. The black substance completely covered her body and had just absorbed her hair, and now it looked like a second skin.

She suddenly saw herself scream and a tail shot out of her. It was black and reptillian in apperance with short spines on it's dorsal ridge and created a sharp metallic blade at the end.

Next large shiny metalic claws burst from her fingers giving Alice shivers.

Next she saw a thin band of Black form a verticle band on her head before widening then forming a metallic texture then a glossy texture overtop. Two narrow spikes came out of the band where the crown of her head began. They didn't grow strait up but at an angle, roughly fourty-five degrees she judged.

At first she thought they were horns but then she saw something sprouting from their tips.

It was a pair of small wings, or at least shaped like it, but their position made her wonder what the point was.

She then saw herself slowly stand up and begin staring strait ahead.

'How can I stand so easily with the weight of that tail?', she wondered.

Once again she saw herself cry out in pain as two small dragon like wings burst out of her back. The were mostly black but the webbing was an almost charcoal grey colour. The top tip went up to her shoulder while the trialing edge reached her waist.

Then as suddenly as it had spread over her the black began to recede, leaving only enough to armour her hands and leaving her pale skin intact as it reduced itself to forming a bikini like second skin then stopping.

Her new 'parts' didn't appear to be part of the Black, they now looked like permanent appendages.

Her point of view shifted back into it's first person perspective, back into her own body.

The first thing she felt wasn't pain, but an overwhelming power, and with it, and overwhelming hunger.

Her view changed once more and yet again there was just herself and darkness.

She blinked and people suddenly appeared. They were all standing alone, as if unaware of someone just a few feet from them. The key difference between them and herself besides the fact that she could see, was they had clothes and she still did not.

A low growling sound was heard and everyone looked around anxiously and afraid.

Alice looked up and saw something massive fade into view from the darkness. Her blood ran cold as she recognized who it was. Her.

She saw her much larger self look down at all the little people (who were only the size of her big toe) with a hungry look.

A deep sense of dread filled Alice as she realized that the growl they had heard had been from her giant double's stomach.

Alice watched in horror as her enlarged self started snatching up the unsuspecting people and greedily shoving them in her mouth. Alice wanted to look away but she was unable to move.

As the last person was gingerly placed on her giant tounge and then swallowed. The massive figure looked at her with a cruel smile that made Alice's skin crawl.

She began shaking with fear as her larger self leaned towards her until Alice could see herself reflected in her bigger double's blood red eyes, then whispered.

"Now that I'm done with them, I can go after your friends next."

Alice's eyes widened in horror. "Noooooooooo!"

Alice screamed and sat strait up breathing heavily and sweating madly.

Frantically she looked around and found herself in a dark but not pitch black room. Her room. And she was wearing clothes, her night gown and underwear.

Having found some comfort in that she checked herself over.

"No tail, no wings, no claws, nothing on my head."

The door suddenly opened and her parents rushed into the room and to her bedside.

"Alice, are you okay?", her father asked with a worried almost panicked tone.

Tears welled up in her eyes and Alice began to cry.

"Daddy", she cried as she grabbed on to her fathers night shirt and started sobbing into it.

A little shocked at first Andy gently wrapped his arms around her and began stroking her hair, speaking gentle words to his daughter trying to calm her down.

Eventually she gained control over her crying as the fright passed.

"Do you need anything Alice?", her mother asked.

Alice managed to stop crying and asked. "Can I have some water?"

Her mother smiled and gave her a light kiss on her tear stained cheek. "Sure dear."

When her mother left Alice rested her head on her fathers chest.

"Daddy, when mom comes back, can I have my old night light?"

A little surprised by Alice's request but more than willing to fullfill his role as her father answered. "Sure honey."

In short time Carol returned with a cup of water which Alice greatefully accepted and drank while her father retrieved her night light.

When she finished her drink and handed the cup to her mother Carol asked her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Alice frowned and shook her head, almost bringing more tears to her already soaked face.

Her father returned and plugged in the small light in the socket next to her bed.

"Thanks daddy", she said.

"Are you going to be okay?", he asked her.

Alice nodded. "I'll be fine, thanks."

He sighed. "Alright sweety."

Although reluctantly he and his wife left, leaving Alice alone once again.

Alice picked her old teddy off the floor and pulled it close to her chest and slowly closed her eyes.

As soon as her eyelids closed she saw a matching pair of blood red eyes staring back at her.

Her eyes snapped open and her breathing became rapid.

After a few more tries she realized that she couldn't go to sleep without seeing those horrible red eyes.

"I can't go to sleep", she whimpered softly.

Tears began to well up in her eyes again as she stared at the ceiling, suddenly banished from the realm of her own dreams.

* * *

Major forshadowing going on here and if you havn't figured it out yet my fic takes place before the parasimon incident. I hope this 21 page nearly seven thousand word chapter is worth the long wait.


	13. Dinner and a Show

Tamers West

Chapter 13: Dinner and a Show

For the whole day Alice seemed somewhat off.

She was constantly spacing out and in the back of her mind was her nightmare from last night.

It had a meaning, she knew it did, but what was it?

Adding to her already unusual behaviour, whenever Xander was around she seemed tense. If he would so much as twitch in her direction she would nearly jump.

This behaviour did not go unnoticed of course especially by the other female members of the group who resolved to confront her after school.

Alice walked out of the school with her homework and books held in front of her.

"Hey Alice!"

Alice froze at the sound of Xanders voice.

"Sorry I can't walk you home today, I promised mom I'd help with the dinner preperations."

Alice looked away.

"T-that's fine. I can walk home on my own."

Xander sighed in relief.

"That's good. I'll see you later then."

Alice watched as he ran down the sidewalk towards home. She sighed whistfully as he disappeared into the back lane.

"Crushing that badly are we?"

Alice jumped and spun around facing Elle, Ciel and Skye.

Without warning they suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled her beneath a nearby tree.

"I'm not crushing!", Alice insisted.

Ciel rolled her eyes. "Sure you weren't"

Elle stepped closer.

"Come on you twitched if one of Xander's hairs fell out of place."

Alice blushed furiously.

"Okay so maybe I am a little bit but that's not why I was acting wierd today."

It was Skye's turn to ask.

"Then why were you acting so strange?"

Alice's lower lip quivered breifly before she looked down at her feet.

Now concerned her friends gently put their hands on her.

"Alice?"

"I had a nightmare", she answered as she sat down.

Elle sat down beside her and pulled her against her chest, gently stroking her head.

"Wanna talk about it."

Alice wasn't sure she did, but she found Elle's odd gesture very comforting.

"I turned into a monster", she said. "And I ate people."

Ciel kneeled down in front of her. "Who?"

Alice cringed. "Everyone".

Her friends looked confused and now even more concerned.

"There's more to it than that", she admitted. "But I don't really want to talk about it right now."

It's okay", Elle said softly. "Just talk when you're ready."

Alice wondered. 'Should I tell them what I saw? Would they believe me? What if they run?. She didn't know.

Amy looked out over the abandoned playground. The ground was scorched in some spots and craters littered the earth everywhere, especially a large one that was the parks most distinct new feature.

"Now I know why the cops kept us out for so long.", she said to herself.

Since early yesterday the police had surrounded the park. The bomb squad and the K-9 unit had both been called in and had remained for almost a whole day.

The story going around was that it was a bunch of kids making mischief, but the cops weren't talking and she doubted they were going to do so anytime soon.

"Well I asked for something to happen", she mumbled.

She stood at the edge of the massive crater. It was at least a meter deep and two meters wide.

"Looks like a suicide bomber had an accident", she said.

"That's dark", a voice said behind her.

Amy turned around to see Natalie Kowalchuck, her supervisor, and best friend.

Amy shrugged. "Seemed appropriate."

Natalie sighed. "I worry about you sometimes."

Amy giggled. "Come on Natalie, you have no time to be a mother hen to me anymore. You have "Little Bundle", to worry about now", she said as she pointed to her friends midsection.

Natalie blushed. "Sorry. Guess I've been a little smothering since I found out I was pregnant."

Amy crossed her arms.

"You've been smothering me long before you were my supervisor never mind pregnant."

Natalie sighed. "Yeah I know. Anyway, we're all done here so we should go, we've got work to do when we get back."

Amy sighed. "Terrific."

She looked back at the ruined playground. The rumored explanation didn't seem to fit. Too many holes and assumptions.

Determination welled within her to find the truth. It was a drive that she had posessed for a long time.

"Eric have you finished getting ready yet?", Maria called to the master bathroom.

"Ya know honey you didn't have to go overboard with this", her husband called back. "It's just a casual dinner."

"You still have to look presentable", she scolded."

Eric sighed. "Yes dear."

"Mom."

Maria turned to her son. "Yes sweetie?"

"I set up the VCR to record your show."

She nodded. "Thank you Xander but why haven't you changed out of your school clothes yet?"

Xander shrugged. "Well it's only a casual dinner so I didn't think I had to...

"You still need fresh clothes", she interrupted sternly. "Now."

Sighing in exhasperation Xander reluctantly went to his room to change.

Maria checked herself in the mirror one more time before readdressing her husband.

"You and I are going to have a talk later about our son copying your bad habits."

Eric sighed heavily. "Yes dear."

Meanwhile the McCoys were getting ready to leave.

"Alice must you always wear dark clothes?" her mother asked.

Alice wore a black T-shirt with a large silver cross printed on the front and black jeans. Her hair was still the same way but she had black ribbons on instead of her blue ones.

"I don't look good in anything bright", she said.

Her mother shook her head.

"Alice you're blonde, we all look good in bright colours."

As if to prove her point her mother was wearing a pink shirt and skirt with brown leather boots, a white purse and a gold necklace.

Alice crossed her arms.

"Well I don't want to."

Carol sighed. "Such a stubborn child."

Andy smirked. "Sounds familiar."

She glared at her husband briefly but said nothing.

Dolphin opened the door.

"If we're walking there then we better go now."

Without anymore words the family at last departed.

Despite the distance it was such a nice evening that they had decided to walk.

Alice seemed to become more anxious with each step closer to the Mackenzie house.

"Calm down Alice", Carol told her. "I can hear your heart pounding from here."

Alice scowled. "I'm fine mother."

"Don't be so bitter Alice", her Grandmother said. "You'll have a good time there I'm sure."

Alice didn't respond. It would only be more troublesome if she did.

Her eyes wandered across the street where police tape still blocked off the area.

She remembered when the police came to their house asking the family if they knew anything. It had been tense and nerve wracking but they had left seemingly unsuspicious.

Alice reached into her pocket and grasped her digivice. It helped to reassure her.

She couldn't help but sigh. It was going to be a long night.

Dokunemon darted across the street the instant the white symbol on the post appeared. After sometime and several mishaps he had learned the meaning of the symbols.

Discreetly he ran off the sidewalk through the bushes into a wodded area. He cautiously crept forward, his senses on high alert. His instincts suddely kicked in and he jumped just in time to avoid a bright violet energy blade.

He landed and turned around to face his attacker.

"Stingmon", he growled.

"I won't let you try to interfere with our quest", Stingmon said darkly.

He lunged at Dokunemon again with his blade but Dokunemon's small size gave him an advantage over such a weapon and he was able to dodge it.

"What quest would be so important that you would harm innocent humans and digimon?" Dokunemon demanded.

Stingmon snorted.

"The digimon we are hunting are far from innocent. As for humans I couldn't care less. It's a small price to pay for our noble cause."

He jumped into the air and came down on the small digimon.

Dokunemon jumped to the side and then right at Stingmon but the larger digimon simply swatted him away into a nearby tree.

Dokunemon grunted. "What is so noble about being indifferent about lost lives?"

"I don't have to justify anything to a pest like you."

This time Stingmon ran at Dokunemon. He swung his blade but Dokunemon dodged it and countered by covering Stingmon's face with sticky string. However Stingmon had already been in the process of a second attack.

Stingmon's right fist connected with the comparatively tiny digimon and sent him flying, but not into a tree fortunately.

"No more talk",Stingmon growled. "I'm going to destroy you here and now."

The McCoys stood in front of the Mackenzie house checking themselves over briefly before ringing the doorbell.

The door opened and Maria gretted their guests.

"Hi, welcome.", she said cheerfully. "Come on in."

The guests entered the home and took off their shoes before being led into the dinning room.

Eric stood on the other side of the room changing a light bulb.

"Be right with you", he said as he screwd the replacement bulb into place.

"No rush", Dolphin assured him.

While they waited the family looked at the meal on the table.

"Oh you didn't have to cook so much", Charlotte said.

There wasn't much empty space on the table. Virtually every inch of it was covered by some sort of dish.

Baskets of buns, garlic bread, and a plate of farmer sausage were just a few of the many articles of food on the table. It was making Alice's mouth water.

Finished with his basic handyman task Eric shook hands with the McCoys.

Robert, Andrew, Carol, Charlotte. Eric paused when he came to the family's youngest member.

Looking at her he could see why Xander was allegedly attracted to her. The blonde hair the blue eyes and she would probably have a nice figure when she was older. He felt that shaking her hand would just be awkward and innapropriate.

"You must be Alice."

Looking somewhat awkward she managed a nod.

Eric was curious how she and Xander would interact with each other in this setting.

"Where's you son?", Carol asked.

"Bringing up the fruit and veggie dishes from the cool room", Maria answered.

"Oh, that's helpful."

"Yes well please sit down he should be up any minute."

"Corection, he's up now.", Xander announced as he entered the room with a plastic tray of fruit and vegtable chunks.

"Oh good. Put them on the cart sweetie and sit down.

Everyone took their seats in the traditional fashion:

The head of each family sat at each end of the table with their wife on their right. Andrew sat on his fathers left and Carol beside him. Xander sat to his fathers left and Alice somewhat reluctantly sat in between him and her grandmother.

The McCoys made no objection of a blessing being said over the meal since they were church goers themselves and made even less fuss when told to dig in.

"Alice didn't know where to start. There was so much food and it all looked so good.

"Try the pasta", Xander suggested to her. "It's to die for."

Alice shrugged. It seemed like as good a place as any to start.

Mike pedaled quickly home from the post office, a package in the wire basket attatched to the handlebars.

He had gotten there just as it was closing, if he had been a second later he would have missed it.

Of course he wouldn't have been late if his mother hadn't waited until the last minute to tell him. He didn't even have time to put his pocket PC back on the charger. The portable device was in a case attatched to his belt.

The packages contents were a mystery to him. He didn't recognize the sender. Most likely it was for his parents but it was addressed to the O'Malley family.

When he entered the public park he quickened his pace. The park was just so creepy at night.

As he went in deeper he saw flashes in the distance and yelling coming from the same direction.

"What's going on?", he wondered aloud.

His curiosity overpowering his fight or flee instincts he pedaled his bycycle off the path towards the disturbance.

As he drew closer the flashes became more focused and he could now make out a constant purple glow.

Not wanting to risk his mode of transportation or the package he was charged with delivering he dismounted and leaned his bike against a tree before continuing deeper into the parks more densly wooded area.

Now much closer he could see two figures illuminated by the odd purple light and he recognized one of them.

"Dokunemon?"

Did that mean the other figure was Stingmon?

Dokunemon ducked to avoid another swing of Stingmon's blade but as a consequence recieved a powerful kick that sent him tumbling across the ground.

Mike winced. Dokunemon didn't stand a chance against Stingmon, he had to help him, and he had to think fast becuase Stingmon was about to land the killing blow.

Alice resisted the reflex to groan as she slouched in her seat.

She was full after just having dinner, but she couldn't reisist the delectable brownie cake that Mrs. Mackenzie had made for desert. As a consequence she was now ready to burst.

The adults meanwhile were drinking some whine that Mr. Mackenzie had brought up and were chatting up a storm with all sorts of stories.

"Xander why don't you and Alice go play somewhere."

The boy smirked. "You trust her alone with me mom?"

Alice looked at him with wide eyes and tinted cheeks. What did he mean by that?

"Yes", his mother answered. "Now go."

Although grateful not to have to listen to adult conversation her lead stomach discouraged her from getting up.

Just as she was about to attempt to get up off the chair a hand was extended to her. She didn't have to guess the owner and it caused her to blush. Awkwardly she took Xanders hand and he helped her up.

She followed him up the stairs to a room with a closed door. His bedroom she guessed.

They entered and Alice saw Tech sitting on Xanders bed reading a book.

"Hello Alice", Tech greeted without taking his eys off the book.

"Uh, hi."

Alice looked around the room.

It was fairly standard. Bed on the far wall, computer on the adjacent left wall and a flat screen tv with a game console on the other wall beside the walk in closet.

"Soooo, Alice."

Alice looked at Xander. "Hmmm?"

"How's the egg?"

She sighed. "Still there. Still unhatched."

An uncomfortable silenc passed until Xander sighed.

"I know I'm supposed to be your host but I honestly don't know what we could do."

Alice didn't blame him. They were of opposite genders who had only met this week and mostly only saw each other at school. Besies digimon and school what else did they have in common?

"You play games?"

Alice shook her head.

Shrugging Xander went over to the console and turned it on.

"Never too late to start."

Dokunemon struggled to get up after Stingmon's kick. The effects of all the other hits had also taken their toll on his battered body, and now it looked like Stingmon was going to finish him off.

Stingmon ran at him with his blade upraised ready to strike him down.

Out of nowhere something crashed into the side of Stingmon's head.

**Sticky String**

Dokunemon's sticky threads stuck to Stingmon's foot causing him to loose his balance and fall after a tug from the small digimon.

Danger averted for the moment Dokunemon looked around and saw Mike standing beside a tree with a rock in his hand.

"What are you doing here?", Dokunemon asked panicked.

Mike shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd lend you a hand."

Stingmon got to his feet.

"Little fool. You'll pay dearly for that."

Dokunemon jumped in between Mike and Stingmon.

"He had nothing to do with this. This fight is between you and I."

"But he interfered. That's inexcusable. Besides I want to see what happens to a human when they are sliced in half.", he added darkly.

Mike swallowed. "Coudn't you just rent a horror flick and find out that way?"

Stingmon didn't reply and raised his blade.

"We can't outrun him", Dokunemon said. "So we have to fight him."

"Or we could do a little of both."

Dokunemon looked up at him. "What?"

Mike quickly picked him up. "Run!"

A little surprised by thier sudden withdrawl Singmon was briefly stunned but quickly became angered.

"Cowards", he called after them, and he gave chase.

"Mike", Dokunemon yelled. "You can't run from him. He'll catch us!"

"I only want him to think we're running."

Dokunemon looked at him curiously.

"Then, what are we doing?"

Mike grinned. "This is a tactical retreat."

Mike finally stopped whtn he reached a pine tree.

"Don't think you can hide from me", Stingmon roared as he charged at them.

Mike smirked. "No one said anything about hiding.", He reached into his pocket PC case and pulled it out.

Just as Stingmon came on to them Mike shone the bright screen right into Stingmon's eyes forcing the attacking digimon to shield them

Just as qucikly Mike's right arm pulled on something in the tree and a branch suddenly shot out and smashed into Stingmon's head sending him crashing to the ground.

"Now get him!"

The little insectoid waisted no time.

**Poison Thread**

Stingmon suddenly became wrapped up in the toxic string forcing him to cry out painfully as the poison entered his body.

Using all his strength he managed to break free but just as he got to his feet Dokunemon curled into a ball and crashed into him hard.

He staggered from the attack but remained upright.

**Poison Thread**

This time though Stingmon intercepted the attack with his blades vaporizing the string.

He swiped with one blade and just barely missed. He followed up with a right punch wich sent the small digimon flying yet again.

Mike quickly intercepted and caught Dokunemon like a football.

"Are you okay?"

Dokunemon coughed.

"He's too strong for me", he said weakly.

"Excellent", Stingmon boasted. "I can kill both of you at once."

The two were in a panic not knowing what to do.

Mike shut his eyes tightly praying for a miracle.

Dokunemon clenched his beak. He was about to die and Mike along with him. A human had come to his aid and was going to die for it.

Stingmon finally lunged.

"It mustn't end like this", Dokunemon thought desperately. "It can't."

**Spiking Strike**

Suddenly a bright light burst from the doomed duo.

Stingmon aborted his attack.

"What's this, another trick?"

**Digivolution**

**Dokunemon Digivolve To...**

**Mothmon**

The light finally subsided and Stingmon gazed upon the new digivolution.

"You digivolved?", he said in disbelief. "How?"

Mothmon had wide moth like wings and four arms. His red eyes and feather like antennae, made him look more like a typical insect digimon than Stingmon. His most striking feature however was the large gatling gun that served as his tail or abdomen.

Mike couldn't help but stare in awe.

"I prayed for a miracle and I guess I got one."

Stingmon clenched his fists.

"Whether you digivolved or not no Mothmon can beat me."

Mothmon grinned.

"Then I guess I need to give you a lesson in Moth-omatics."

Mothmon flew at Stingmon who met his charge.

They flew at each other with tremendous speed, each planning their own moves.

Stingmon moved first drawing both his blades.

**Spiking Strike**

At the last possible second Mothmon turned to the right and swung his tail forward knocking the smaller champion to the ground.

Grunting Stingmon shakily stood to his feet.

"What happened? Why wasn't I able to dodge that?" Suddenly he remembered. "The poison. It's slowing me down."

**Morphon Gatling**

Stingmon moved miliseconds before the ground where he stood was torn apart by Mothmon's deadly ammunition.

The gun tailed digimon dove at Stingmon for a more close range attack.

Stingmon jumped off a tree strait back at Mothmon catching him by surprise.

**Spinning Strike**

A series of kicks pounded Mothmon's chest then Stingmon kicked him away.

**Spiking Strike**

Mothmon flared his wings regaining control just in time to block Stingmon's attack by grabbing his arms.

"That the best you got?", Mothmon taunted.

Stingmon struggled to bring his leg up to kick him away but Mothmon had him pinned too close.

Mothmon leaned closer till they were almost butting heads.

"Let's go for a ride."

**Gauss Powder**

Stingmon cried out in pain as the yellow powder came from Mothmon's wings and washed over him.

Suddenly Mothmon flew strait up then looped over and headed strait back down

Stingmon tried to fight back but the powder seemed to have immobilized him.

"Have a nice fall."

Mothmon hurled him towards the ground while he pulled away, leaving Stingmon to slam into the earth with a bone shattering crash.

Mike winced. 'That had to hurt.'

The shock and pain from the impact woke Stingmon from his paralysis allowing him to crawl out of the crater. He groaned as he stood up. Had he not been given extra power for his mission his data would have surely started flickering right now.

The poisons effect seemed to have worn off by now but he had taken so much damage that it didn't really help at this point.

"I'm not done with you yet", Mothmon yelled as he dove in for another attack.

"You make the same mistake twice?", Stingmon muttered.

He jumped out of the way and swung his blade.

**Spiking Strike**

It was a glancing hit but it was enough to send Mothmon crashing to the ground.

Stingmon briefly contemplated attacking Mothmon but his foes quick recovery forced him to focus on retreat.

He ran into the cover of the trees, hiding behind one of them as he waited for an opportunity to slip out unnoticed.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are", Mothmon sang.

'I must retreat', Stingmon grudgingly admitted to himself. 'I must complete my mission.'

"So you wanna play hide and seek eh", Mothmon asked out. "Fine by me, but my rules are a little different."

Mothmon floated in the air, just high enough to allow him to bring his tail forward.

**Morphon Gatling**

Mothmon fired in a wide arc obliterating the trees in front of him while Mike watched dumstruck.

'He's nuts.'

Stingmon quickly evacuated his hiding place seconds before it erupted into splinters.

Finally ceasing his attack Mothmon flew up over the carnage and found his target running away.

"1-2-3 on Stingmon", he called out.

Suddenly something crashed into Mothmon from above forcing him from the sky and smashing into the earth.

Mike gasped and saw a strange looking silhouette flying away with Stingmon

He ignored it and ran to check on his digital friend.

He ran tot he impace crater where Mothmon had fallen and found a very beat up very exhausted looking Dokunemon.

Carfully stepping into the crater her approched the green digimon and gently picked him up.

"Are you okay?"

It seemed like a stupid question but what else was he supposed to say?

Dokunemon coughed. "I'm so weak."

Picking his steps carefully Mike managed to get out of the crater without shifting Dokunemon too much.

"Don't worry buddy. I'll take you home and fix ya right up."

Suddenly a bright glow began to shine from his PC case.

"Now what?", he asked aggrivated.

He spared one arm from holding up Dokunemon to fish out the source of the light.

He pulled out his pocket PC. The light focused and the small computer morphed into a more durable looking device. The adapter plug vanished and the stylus also disappeared.

"What is this?" Mike wondered.

"I have no idea", Dokunemon said.

"Hey, save your energy for healing. Don't waste it thinking."

Mike put the device back in the case and walked back to his bike. Fortunately it was untouched and the package was still in the baskett.

"Let's get out of here before the cops show up."

He gently placed Dokunemon on top of the package and calmly pedaled off home.

"What a touching story", Carol said all teary eyed. "To think such a miracle could happen."

Maria nodded. "Yes I thank God everyday for allowing me to give birth to my baby boy."

Charlotte smiled. They had been going through the photo albums and had come to Xander's baby pictures, prompting Maria to tell them the story of his birth.

A small pity Alice wasn't present to hear it but she was upstairs with Xander and as for the men they were downstairs doing whatever it is men do.

Upstairs things were actually going well despite Alice's inability to play most of the games Xander had. Thus he had asked if she would like to watch a movie instead. She said yes and they ended up watching Spaceballs.

As it happened Alice was a secret Star Wars fan so she was able to understand the references in the film.

The two laughed as Dark Helmet was sent crashing into the wall when the ship stopped.

"I love Rick Moranis", Xander laughed.

Alice nodded. "They couldn't have found anyone better."

Xander nodded. "I'm glad I found something you like."

Alice shrugged. "Well the games were fun but I'm not very good at them."

"It's an aquired skill", he admitted. "Just takes practice."

As the movie continued Alice decided to try for more conversation.

"You have any hobbies?"

Xander paused.

"Well I make gameplay montages and movies from the games we play."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"You make movies from your games? I didn't know you could do that."

Xander nodded. "Yep."

Alice thought for a moment. "Is that where your nickname comes from?"

"Yep."

"What about Mike?"

"Mike got the name 'Mortar' for his excellence in artillery. Especially in real time strategy games."

"What about Jeff?"

"Jeff got 'Solicitor' from his participation in online debates. A Solicitor is basically a british lawyer. It's a bit of a stretch but it still sounds cool.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "And Ciel?"

"Muskette, cause it sounds french and she's a crack shot with a sniper rifle."

She nodded. "Elle?"

Xander smirked.

"Let's just say you shouldn't get in a fight with her and above that don't make her mad. It makes sense that close combat is her thing."

Alice smiled. "What game does she do that in?"

Xander shrugged. "Most, but I was actually referring to her fencing."

Alice's eyes widened.

"Elle is a fencer?"

Yeah, and a good one too. She's top in her age group in Canada. She hopes to make the world championship in Japan next year.

Alice was astonished. "Wow."

Xander nodded. "You have any hobbies?"

Alice smiled shyly. "Well sort of."

"What is it?" he asked eagerly.

"Well I like making patterns out of coloured glass. Then I hang them in the sunlight to see what kind of light pattern it makes.

Xander looked at her. "That's different."

Alice blushed slightly. "It's not that special."

Xander chuckled.

"Well I've never heard of anyone else doing it so it's got to be at least a little special."

Alice blushed deeper. "Thank you."

She was suddenly very glad she had come here. For the first time since moving here she felt at ease.

Mike turned the knob all the way to the left and let the hot water run into the tub.

"You should know", Dokunemon said. "I have apprehension towards water."

"I'm only putting in a little bit", Mike told him. "I don't know if it'll work on a digimon but with humans hot water relaxes and sooths our bodies."

He turned off the water once it was about three centimeters deep. He then gently picked up Dokunemon and held him over the tub.

"If it's too hot let me know."

Slowly Dokunemon was lowered into the tub until he touched the water where Mike suspended him briefly to allow him to test the water temperature then placed him gently into the water.

Breathing a sigh of relaxation he settled into the tub, enjoying the wonderful new sensation.

Mike wet a wash cloth in the water and gently stroked Dokunemon with it to wipe off the filth from his battle with Stingmon.

"Thanks for saving my life by the way."

Dokunemon was silent for a moment. He had forgotten that he had indeed saved his life and he felt ashamed for that.

"Y-you're welcome", he replied.

"Your digivolution was cool too."

Dokunemon thought back to that. He didn't even know how he digivolved. What's more he had reverted back to his rookie form. While this was not unheard of it was still unusual to revert.

"I honestly don't know how it did it.", he answered.

Mike shrugged. "However you did it I'm glad you did."

"You saved my life as well, thank you."

Mike scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah well that little trick with the tree is usually used by the neighborhood kids for practical jokes but it worked pretty well. Anyway if you're curious about digivolution you should ask Black Gatomon. She is a champion level after all."

Dokunemon paused. "I'll consider it."

"You should stay here for tonight", Mike told him. "Actually from the beating you took you should stay here for at least the weekend."

"I don't want to...

"You're not imposing", Mike interrupted. "Just stay here and get better."

"Dokunemon sighed. "If you insist."

"I do insist", Mike said cheerfully. "It's the least I can do."

Dokunemon thought it was strange being so close to a human. It wasn't like being around another digimon at all.

Mike seemed very considerate and while he behaved very diferently from a digimon, strange even, it didn't make him uncomfortable, and like so many other things that happened tonight, he had to ask himself... Why?

* * *

Another digivolution in another chapter. Hope it was worth the wait.


	14. Phantom

**I'm giving a shout out to RGZ Archer and Crazyeight and of course Blazing Chaos who have done much to inpire me with their stories and their beautiful writing styles.**

* * *

Tamers West

Chapter 14: Phantom

Dokunemon climbed to the top of a tall building trying to get his bearings as he tried to navigate to the home of Ciel. Black Gatomon's tamer.

Surveying the neighbourhood he looked for one of the landmarks Mike had mentioned. A tall building with a pointed roof.

The glaring sun hampered his vision somewhat and the hustle and bustle of the roads below didn't help either. This all seemed so alien to him, all the rushing around, the strange activities humans did, it all served to confuse him. Humans in their vehicles darting through traffic out of turn nearly colliding with other vehicles.

Finally picking out the tall pointed roof among the sea of buildings Dokunemon quickly vacated the roof and sprinted towards it. Once he reached the building he would head directly south then turn right on the first street. Ciel's home was the fifth on the right.

'Not much further to go', he told himself.

Thinking back to that night what constantly stuck out in his mind was that Mike had come to his aid. He had been fighting a lossing battle against a powerfull opponent and to his knowledge humans had no way of effectively fighting digimon.

He arrived at the pointed building.

'Okay now head south.'

He thought back to just before he digivolved.

He had placed himself in front of Mike as Stingmon attacked and then the next thing he felt was a huge intoxicating energy filling his being, and then he was Mothmon.

He came upon the first street and turned right.

The street was lined with large houses with yards rather large for lots so deep in the city. All the properties were protected by well built fences and gates.

'Fifth house.'

Like all the other houses on the street that he had seen it was very big. Red bricks made up most of the outside wall while the entrance was made of limestone. Attatched to the right side of the house was a four car attatched garage.

Dokunemon slipped through the iron bars of the gate and slipped inside.

The yard was well groomed, all the trees and bushes trimmed and the grass well mowed.

Carefully he skittered across the ground towards the house and began climbing up the wall to a balcony on the second floor.

"I didn't think you were the type to come for a visit."

Dokunemon nearly jumped and faced Black Gatomon leaning on the balcony door with a smug grin on her face.

"I'm not here for a visit", he told her. "I need to speak with you."

Black Gatomon raised an eyebrow.

"Oh a business trip? Funny I thought you just couldn't stand to be away from a pretty thing like me."

"I don't know what you mean." Dokunemon's tone was uncertain, even cautious. Mike had warned him to be careful what he said around females.

**FLASHBACK**

"But why must I be extra careful what I say if their social status is similar to yours?"

Mike sighed.

"Because often they tend to take what you say the wrong way."

"But Black Gatomon is a digimon and digimon don't have genders."

Mike chuckled.

"Oh trust me she's a girl. Besides she's Ciel's shadow so what else could she be?"

**END FLASHBACK**

"You're no fun", the dark digimon pouted.

She stopped leaning on the door and walked closer to him.

"So then what do you wan't to talk about?"

"I have questions."

"About what?"

"First, I must tell you what happened."

Black Gatomon sat and listned as the insect digimon recounted his tale of the other night.

His encounter with Stingmon, the ensuing battle, Mike suddenly appearing and then his digivolution.

"I ended up reverting back to my rookie form", Dokunemon said as he wrapped up his story. "Then Mike's device that he called a pocket PC transformed."

One of Black Gatomon's ears dropped.

"Transformed? Into what?", she asked him.

Dokunemon shook his head.

"We don't know. He said it has many new functions but he doesn't know what they do."

Black Gatomon brought her tail under her chin thoughtfully.

"Well I don't know anything about gadgets but if you didn't digivolve from aquiring data then the only explanation is that Mike made you digivolve."

Dokunemon stiffned and stared at her.

"How is that possible? What does he have to do with it?"

"Everything!", Black Gatomon shouted as she stood to her feet. "Humans give digimon the power to digivolve, either through their emotions or feelings or both."

Dokunemon thought that statement was rather redundant but taking Mikes advice let it slide.

"But how is that possible?" he asked her.

She shrugged.

"I don't know how it's possible it just is."

Dokunemon was silent for a while, taking in all the information he had recived thus far and mulled it over.

Black Gatomon frowned.

"I guess you're from a place in the digital world that doesn't put humans in a positive light."

He nodded.

"I've heard things about digimon being treated like slaves, or pets."

Black Gatomon snorted.

"I am not treated like a pet or a slave. I'm Ciels friend, her companion, her confidant, the personification of her dark emotions and thoughts. Only with a more pleasant personality."

Now I know that they don't want us to go off on our own someplace but that's because they worry about us and don't want us to get into trouble. It's to protect us from other humans who don't understand us."

Dokunemon paused again to consider.

"But why at that moment? Why did I not digivolve sooner?"

"Because a bond is needed between a digimon and their tamer. When you stood to block Stingmon's attack you completed that bond because you were both willing to risk your lives for each other."

Dokunemon went rigid as a shocking revelation overcame him.

"He can't-we cannont be-, not just like that."

Black Gatomon snickered.

"What? Did you expect some ceremony or something? The digivice is the symbol of your partnership which I'll bet my whiskers is what Mike's gizmo turned into."

Dokunemon was suddenly sceptical.

"How do you know so much about this if you yourself have only had a parner for such a short time?"

She smiled.

"I'm Ciel's shadow remember. I have some residual knowledge and memories through our bond and she got the knowledge from the t.v show."

Dokunemon looked at her confused.

"The what?"

Refusing to answer Black Gatomon crossed her arms.

"You should ask your tamer about that. It could be a bonding opportunity for you."

The larva digimon bristled

"I never said he was my tamer. Such a decision must be made by me and me alone."

"You already made that decision", she told him in a parental tone. "If you hadn't the bond would never have been formed and you would never have digivolved and you would both be dead."

Dokunemon turned away unable to meet her, gaze his mind buzzing.

"I don't recall ever making a commitment", he countered. "I have others."

"He can help you. You accomplish more together than appart. You we're paired for a reason whether you like it or not."

Burning with irritation and his mind overwhelmed by frustration he turned to leave.

"Thank you for your help", he said making a conscious effort not to sound spiteful. "But I have a quest to-

"You're afraid", Black Gatomon interrupted.

The larva digimon whirled around.

"What?"

Black Gatomon fixed him with a stern look.

"Don't you remember that discussion we had at the school with those other two? If your destiny is right there in front of you. Why don't you grab it?"

She took a few steps closer to him.

"Why are you acting like this? When you told me your story you sounded gratefull for Mike's help. Now you sound like you wan't nothing to do with him."

Dokunemon cringed and turned his head away. Should he tell her? He had sounded rather ungrateful for everything Mike had done for him. What's worse he risked his quest in the process because Black Gatomon didn't look very inclined to help him at the moment.

Sighing he resigned himself.

"In my home, 'The Hive', most are sympathetic to Stingmon's cause. If I become his partner I may not be able to see my home again."

Black Gatomon's face turned from one of anger to a mixed expression of shock, regret and sympathy.

"But you are right", Dokunemon admitted. "I already made that decision. I just didn't realize it, and yes maybe I am afraid. It just feels so... sudden.

Black Gatomon nodded.

"Life is like that."

She walked over and gently put her paw on the insect digimon's head.

"No one said things need to be rushed.", she said gently. "Take things slow if you have to, develop a friendship and from their you can achieve your full potential."

Dokunemon sighed, this time in relief.

"Thank you."

His thanks were genuine this time, his mind now far more at ease.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always available."

Dokunemon bowed.

"I will, thank you."

As she watched him hop up to the balcony railing and climb down the wall she heard a giggle in the back of her mind.

"He never even suspected."

Black Gatomon grinned.

"You'd think everyone would understand that everyone is connected to their shadow. It's just taken a little further with us."

Off in the first plane of the digital world from atop her stone perch in the middle of the desolate wasteland Renamon kept watch as the others remained below in the shelter of a cluster of rock formations.

Impmon lay on his back with his hands tucked behind his head. Typical behaviour for him.

Terriermon was showing off by hopping on an obstacle course of rocks then laughing at Monodramon's expense as he tried to mimic the feat and then Lopmon scolded the dog-bunny for doing so.

Guardromon was building a wall out of rocks to fill the only gap in the rock walls that surrounded them.

Calumon treid to help, wobbling dangerously as he carred a rock that was much to big for him.

Marine Angemon flew above them all, acting as a second lookout while also enojoying riding the air currents from the wind impacting against the large rock formations.

Finally Guilmon sat on a large boulder silent and still staring at the sphere in the sky that represented the real world. She had no doubt he was thinking about Takato, or bread.

As for her she was also thinking of the real world. Her favorite spots to sit and think. The routes along buildings and streets she used to run. Mostly though she missed Rika.

The flaming haired girl was constantly in her thoughts. They had gotten so close as partners but also as friends.

She wondered how safe she was. They had heard tales that digimon were once again beginning to return to the real world.

Her paws clenched as frustration built up. Frustrated that she was stuck here, that they were all stuck here while their tamers were vulnerable and alone.

She saw Guilmon suddenly stand to his feet and start growling. Guilmon had the best natural senses of any of them. If he was growling, that ment trouble was coming.

Suddenly Renamon felt an unimaginble pain in her left shoulder and instantly collapsed to her knees then slipped off her stone perch.

"Fear not my lady I shall catch you", Guardromon announced as he ignited his rockets.

As Guardromon caught the falling vulpine digimon everyone looked at her attacker.

A red hooded cloaked figure hovered above the rock where Renamon had slid off. From under it's cloak it had it's arm outstretched where Renamon's lost data began to collect into a sphere. Crooked in it's right arm was a large scythe with a ball and chain attatched.

"A Phantomon", Lopmon gasped.

Guardromon landed and gently placed Renamon on the sandy ground before raising his arms and pointing his missiles at the attacker.

Calumon stood next to Renamon looking worried.

"Are you okay?", he asked.

Renamon was in too much pain to answer, the large cut Phantomon created still open but at least she wasn't losing data anymore.

Terriermon shook his tiny fist at Phantomon.

"What's the big idea you floating freak?"

Phantomon seemed to ignore him and finished collecting Renamon's data.

"Exactly what I wanted."

It looked down onto the digimon below.

"How convenient", it said. "All my targets in one place."

Phantomon's voice made them shiver. It was smooth and eerily feminine.

Terriermon didn't like this one bit. Phantomon was obviously powerfull if he(or rather she) was able to take down Renamon with one hit. What's worse he didn't like being refered to as a target.

Phantomon tucked the sphere of Renamon's data into her cloak then drew her scythe.

"Mind you, it's nothing personal."

Phantomon suddenly dropped from the rock and screamed down strait at Guilmon.

"Oh no you don't!", Terriermon shouted.

**Terrier Tornado**

Phantomon aborted her attack on the red dino and dodged Terriermon's attack then swiped at him with her scythe as he passed by.

Terriermon screamed in pain and dropped to the ground immobile, half his left ear missing.

Growling ferociously Guilmon attacked, with Monodramon attacking Phantomon's right.

**Pyro Sphere**

Phantomon effortlessly deflected the attack and sent it strait into Monodramon, sending the digimon into a rock.

"Try this one on for size rag bag!", Impmon yelled as he summoned a large fireball from the earth.

"Bada-boom."

Phantomon dodged to the right as the fireball singed past being forced closer to Guilmon who came in for another attack.

**Rock Breaker**

Phantomon hopped over the red dino and as Guilmon turned around she slashed at him.

Guilmon roared in pain as the scythe cut him laterally almost from nose to tail.

"Take this fiend."

Guardromon flew strait at the ghost digimon who ducked just in time, Guardromon passing centimeters overhead.

Lopmon inserted herself between Phantomon and Guilmon.

**Blazing Ice**

Phantomon suddenly vanished, the rookie attack hitting nothing but air.

"Where'd she go?" Impmon yelled in frustration!

"Oh Terriermon!", Calumon yelled.

The digimon that were still standing turned to see Phantomon hovering over Terriermon collecting the data from his lost ear into another sphere then tucking it under her cloak.

"Get away from him!"

**Guardian Barrage**

Phantomon vanished again as Guardromon's missles passed through where she'd been and smashed into the wall he had been building, erasing his entire days work in an instant.

"Now where?" Lopmon wondered worriedly.

Suddenly Lopmon was struck from behind and landed several meters from where she'd been standing.

Phantomon stood over Guilmon and stuck her hidden hand into the mass of data floating into the air. The data immediately moving and collecting into another sphere.

Not wanting to use his missles when the enemy was so close to his friend Guardromon ignited his rockets.

"Let's try it up close and personal."

Quickly Phantomon tucked the data she had managed to collect and brought her hand under the eye attatched to her neck by a gold chain.

**Magical Game**

Phantomon suddenly disappeared from Guardromon's view and was replaced with a large boulder.

"Alarm!"

Guradramon pulled up sharply just barely missing the enormous stone.

"Well that was-"

Guardramon suddenly smashed into something, but as he fell to the ground he saw nothing but air.

He crashed to the ground kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Groaning he tried to sit up and looked where he had seemingly crashed into something and was shocked to see one of the large rock faces there.

He sighed wearily and collapsed onto his back.

"All an illusion."

"That was simple", Phantomon said in an amused tone.

"Fight's not over yet", Impmon yelled as he and Monodramon charged at her.

Planning her moves Phantomon begain gyrating the ball and chain at the end of her scythe.

Impmon began charging a fireball between his hands, making him her priority target. She released the spnning ball at him hitting him dead in his stomach and sending his flying into a rock.

Monodramon jumped at her but she dodged to the left and partly deflected him with the end of her scythe.

She brought her Iron ball around in an upward arc just as Monodramon turned around to attack again and she brought the heavy instrument down on his head.

Pulling back the ball she sighed.

"Finally."

**Kahuna Waves**

Phantomon was suddenly struck by a wave of floating pink hearts that to her felt like getting shot by a series of bullets.

Marineangemon angry and ready for a fight flew strait at the assailant.

"I forgot about you", Phanotomon growled.

She swated the digimon aside with the end of her scythe slamming the tiny mega against the rock wall.

Marineangemon was stunned for a moment and tried to move but was suddenly sandwiched by Phantomon's iron ball.

Phanotmon watched as Marineangemon fell to the ground after being crushed against the rock wall by her iron ball.

"I can't believe that little fly is a mega", she muttered bitterly.

She turned back to Guilmon's unmoving flickering form.

"Now to collect the rest."

Suddenly she was knocked to the ground her cloak on fire.

She quickly padded the flames out then glared at her attacker.

"Didn't think I'd stay down from a little love tap like that did ya toots?" Impmon boasted.

Phantomon brought up her scythe ready to attack, but a small sound caught her attention.

A digignome flew down between them and right through Guilmon's loose data.

Alarmed Phantomon rushed to try and collect the data.

"No ya don't!"

"Impmon sent I little fireball across Phantomon's path causing her to hesitate.

The data floating in the air suddenly converged and glowed brightly before shooting up like a rocket into the sky towards the world sphere above.

Impmon chuckled.

"Can't win 'em all toots. Why don't you use that overgrown potato peeler for something more suitable for ya. Like cooking dinner."

Phantomon clutched her scythe tightly and gave Impmon a dath glare.

"I'm going to make this particularly painful for you.", she threatened dangerously.

Impmon grinned.

"Bring it on bag lady", he said as he charged another fireball between his hands.

The two charged at each other each hungry for revenge.

Phantomon's eye necklace began to glow.

**Father Time**

Impmon suddenly slowed down and the fireball in his hands fizzled out.

"So weak", he wheezed as he collapsed to his knees.

A shadow fell over him and he shakily raised his head to see Phantomon standing over him with her scythe raised.

"You'll stay down this time", she said maliciously.

Impmon cried out and Phantomon brought down her scythe.

Derick McKay bit his tongue to keep it still as his 'guest' rambled on.

"I promised to attract more people and buisness and workers to this city. How am I supposed to do that with rampaging monsters to worry about?"

McKay sighed inwardly. This was probably the worst part of his job. Dealing with the likes of James Stack, mayor of Winnipeg.

"That's why we've been keeping this a secret Mr. Mayor", he said attempting to calm the man down. "The digimon that have appeared have been small and well withing our capabilities to deal with them."

"For now", the mayor argued. "But what about a more powerfull one. What will you do if a giant pig attacks our city?"

Mckay clenched his jaw. Stack may be a pencil pushing beurocrat but he wasn't stupid. At least not entirely.

"We have things in place for such an event", Mckay assured him.

"You'd better", the mayor warned. "I have more important things to do then babysit a bunch of key punching desk jockeys!"

With that the mayor left slamming the door on his way out.

'Arrogant little prick', McKay muttered to himself. The mayor wasn't the only one with better things to do.

McKay went to a door on the opposite side of the room, leading out to the control room. He opened it and almost bumped into someone.

"Oh sir I was just about to call you."

The young man was Terrence, one of his operators. He had dark brown hair and the hazel eyes that were typical of Winnipegers.

"I hope this means good news", McKay said.

"We're finished sir, we're online."

McKay sighed in relief.

"Well that's some good news."

Following Terrence he fully emerged from the doorway into the operators room.

It was a simple setup: Desks arranged facing the wall where a map of the city and surrounding area was currently being projected. It wasn't as fancy or high tech as the Hypnos setup but then Hypnos didn't get a surplus building either.

"Now maybe we can start doing our job", he muttered quietly to himself.

Suddenly an audible but not loud alarm went off and a red dot appeared on the screen.

'Already? Who know how many digimon have already come through.'

"Are the defensive programs operational yet?"

Terrence looked at him worriedly.

"No sir. It takes hours for the programs to configure after the system is online."

Mckay grunted in frustration.

"Where's it headed?"

Terrence quickly dropped into his seat and zoomed the map in on it's location.

"East Transcona sir."

McKay had a look of shock as he realized the dots exact location.

"The park where all those craters were found!"

Under the afternoon sun in the McCoy's backyard the bulk of the Winnipeg tamers and their digimon were training.

It started out by adressing the issue Technowizardmon had with blocking Ice Devimon's attack and becoming trapped in a dome of ice created by his own shield.

Xander asked if he could put up a wall instead and after a successful attempt they continued to experiment.

Now Alice Jeff and Xander along with Commandramon were currently throwing a large assortment of balls at Tech as he deflected them with shields projected to the size of pizza pans seemingly attatched to his arms.

"Alright that's enough", Xander said. "No sense exhausting you."

Tech dropped his shields grateful for the break.

Everyone sat down at a round table where drinks and snacks had been prepared.

"With those new techniques you'll last a lot longer in a fight."

Commandramon nodded.

"Not to shabby."

Xander looked at him thoughtfully.

"By the way Commandramon what kind of grenades can you use? I've seen you use frags and flashbangs, anything else?

Commandramon grinned and took out another grenade that resembled a small grey sphere.

"Incindiaries too."

Sudenly a loud beeping sound interrupted them and they all ckecked their digivices.

Xander looked at the blank screen confused.

"Nothing?"

Jeff had the same result.

"Nada."

Alice's face however had a drastically different look; surprise.

Without any warning she abondoned her chair and dahsed into the house.

Alarmed the others followed her.

Alice bolted up the stairs and into her room with the others right behind her.

She ran to her closet and began sifting through it.

"It's gone!", she cried in a panic.

"What is?" Jeff asked.

"The egg hatched!"

Now the alarm was shared by everyone.

"Wait."

Everyone looked at Tech who stood motionless with his index finger raised. He slowly pointed to Alice's dresser.

"There."

Cautiously Alice approached, slowly, wairily.

As she neared the dark corner of her room she heard a small sound, like a tiny whimpering.

With deliberate slowness she peered around the corner and saw a little white ball with long floppy ears silently crying amidst the dust that had collected.

"Hey."

The little ball spun around and looked at her. A bright smile appeared on it's face then it jumped at Alice squealing with delight.

Alice barely managed to catch the small baby digimon as it made happy noises and snuggled against her, tears pouring down her cheeks.

He remembered her, she could feel it. Taht had been one of the shings she had worried most about. Would he remember her? Alice had never felt this level of happynes before. Her best friend was back alive and in her arms.

Another beeping sound was suddenly heard and once again the boys checked their digivices.

"Now it's a digimon", Commandramon said as he bolted downstairs.

Thinking quick Xander turned to Alice.

"You can stay here, we got this."

Alice nodded in thanks and watched the others leave.

She looked back at the little blob snuggled against her.

"I'm so glad to have you back", she said as she nuzzled him.

Outside the two tamers and their digimon ran throught the bushes on their way to the park where their last battle had taken place.

As they came out of the bushes they saw the fog that betrayed the occurance of a bioemergence.

"Where is it?" Jeff asked.

Commandramon snffed the air.

"I don't sense it?"

They all looked around trying to see if the digimon was trying to slip away. All they saw were the familiar craters and structures, some of which had bullet hole from Commandramon's stray rounds.

"I don't sense it eigther", Tech told them.

Slowly the fog began to dissipate.

"I'm going in", Commandramon said as he ran into the fog.

"Wait!", Jeff called.

Too late, Commandramon disappeared into the fog then suddenly gave a shout.

The other three ran after him, the fog now more or less cleared. There was a large circle of barren ground that surrounded the large creater created from Ice Devimon's digicore. At the bottom was Commandramon, face down in the dirt.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked.

Commandramon lifted his head up and caughed out dirt.

"Nothing here."

Jeff scratched his head.

"Then what gives?"

Xander tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe it can cloak?"

Commandramon grunted as he pulled himself up out of the crater.

"Then how are we supposed to find it?"

Xander sighed.

"I think we should look around then go back to Alice. She might know what's going on."

Commandramon crossed his arms.

"And what exactly do we look for?"

"Any clue", Xander said as he turned to leave with Tech.

Commandramon looked despondant.

"Any clue? And just what does a clue look like in this case?"

Jeff shrugged.

"No idea."

Commandramon sighed in exhasperation.

"Now I know why you guys made Alice the leader."

Across the Pacific Ocean things were not quite as laid back.

In a bedroom on the second floor of the Matsuki bakery someone was not having a peacful sleep.

Tkato tossed and turned violently in his bed then suddenly sat up wide awake with horror and dripping with perspiration, panting labourously.

"Guilmon", he panted.

He looked arond his room making sure he was truly away from the realm of nighmares he had just escaped from.

He breathed a weak sigh of relief. Just a dream, but it had seemed so real, as though he had been there in person.

All of the tamers digimon had been sitting around together when suddenly something(he didn't see what exactly) attacked them and Guilmon had gotten very badly hurt.

Takato swung his legs over the side of his bed. Guilmon was hurt out there somehere. He could feel it.

All this time he hadn't been ablt to tell the others because of his homework and his mother had kept her eyes on him like a hawk, not letting him sneak away even once.

He looked towards his desk at the vile ting that had taken him so long to complete and delayed the reunion with his partner.

"Tomorrow", he told himself. "Tomorrow he'd tell them."

Wait, Henry was off visiting his grandparents for the whole weekend and Rika was off on vacation.

"Lucky, she gets to start a week later", he mumbled enviously. It would be best if they were all told at once he decided. Even if it delayed any action by a whole day he didn't have much choice.

Slowly he layed back down on his bed and pulled the sheets over him and tried to sleep.

He tossed and turned for a while before sitting back up. It was no use, the dream had him too wound up to sleep.

Finding that any attempt to return to sleep would be fruitless he got out of bed and walked to his desk.

He turned on the lamp and pushed aside his homework to make room for his sketchbook.

'Might as well draw'.

He opened the book and began to sketch.

Skye yawned as she slipped into her white nightgown and put on her slippers, both a gift from her mother.

Withing her room the noises of the city were unheard even to her sensitive ears. When they came for the 'open house' while it was for sale the realter had said the house had been soundproofed in the bedrooms and living room. They didn't believe it until they spent their first night in the the home.

It was a nice two story suburban home that was painted a light blue with wood siding and a porch on the front and an attatched garage on top of which the second floor had a room where her parents had an office.

A front porch ran the length of the house till the garage and a broader porch in the backyard where her mother had a garden and a small shed tucked into the corner.

Her room was on the second floor in the northwest corner of the house, farthest from the garage.

On the far left wall when you entered the room was a vanity mirror with lights around it, mounted on a dresser that had two of her stuffed animal and a picture along with some very basic cosmetics reserved for special occasions.

Most of her clothing was kept just to the right of the dresser in a walk in closet. The door had a full length body mirror on the inside and two hooks on the outside. One reserved for her bathrobe and the other for her sweater.

Up against her far right wall was her neatly made bed centered beneath her south facing window.

Finally across the room was her work desk for homework and the like with a trunk between it and the bed.

After making sure the door was properly closed she walked to her bed ready to put her body to rest for the night.

"How strange it is for he night owl to roost so early.\", a voice said in mild amusement.

Skye turned around in surprise.

"Rose?"

"Who else?", the spirit asked in mock curiosity.

"I just-I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

Rose floated beside her.

"All my targets were in one place", she said with satisfaction. "From there it was simple. I was able to hit the most elusive one first."

She moved behind the blonde haired girl who then turned to face her.

"I believe we have a new task to complete."

Skye looked at her.

"For both of us?"

Rose slowly lowered her scythe just beyone Skye's side pointing behind her.

Behind her leaning on her dresser was a girl exactly her age wearing a black gothic lolita dress with long black stockings and dressy black one strap shoes.

Her hair was up in a spikey ponytail and her eyes were a dark purple. Her skin was so pale that one could think she was a vampire.

Skye ran to her and trapped her in a powerfull hug.

The girl smiled and returned the hug.

"Hello Skye", she said in a soft sweet voice. "I missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you Akir", Skye said in a shaky almost crying voice.

"There there", Akir said gently patting Skye on the head. "Be strong Skye, for me."

Skye breathed deep trying to calm herself down then slowly released the girl.

"You know my time here is limited", Akir told her. "I've no time for unnecissary tears."

Skye nodded.

"I'm sorry."

Akir smiled and put a hand on her shoulder

"You're just showing you care."

Akir then walked over to Rose.

"You have them Phantomon?"

Rose reached under her cloak and pulled out four data spheres.

Akir grinned.

"Excellent."

She opened her palm and in a puff of black smoke a purse appeared.

Carefully Rose placed the data spheres into the purse and Akir closed it.

"Now for your mission."

Skye walked up and stood beside Rose.

"Do I really have to do this?"

Akir looked at her with a sad face.

"Don't you want us to be together again? Or do you want to stay alone with no one who truly understands your feelings. Weren't you willing to do anything to bring us together again? Or was it all a lie?"

"No!" Skye insisted. "I didn't lie, I do want us to be together again. I wan't us to get back to like it was when we were children." She paused and looked down at the grey carpet floor. "I just- I'm not used to this yet."

"That's irrelevent", Akir said sternly. "The question is are you willing to do what it takes or not?"

Skye frowned then looked back up at the pale skinned girl.

"What's my mission?"

* * *

**So at last I update, work has been murder lately.**

**Anyway Akir is introduced adding to the mystery and Skye's situation is one big "?" **

**The DRD is online now but they still can't do anything and the politicians aren't cutting them a break.**

**The digimon from the show appear at last and get totally wasted. Why did Phantomon collect the data for Akir's master. Why do Akir and Skye seem so close, and why couldn't Takato finish his homework sooner?**

**Anyway I really hope you enjoy this and I hope it tides you over until the next update.**

**Till next time**

**~Rogue**


	15. Scarlet Phantom

**Warning!!!!**

**The first part of this chapter contains violence please read cautiously.**

**I used Microsoft Word for this so forgive me if it's not as organized as usual.**

* * *

Tamers West

Chapter: 15 Scarlet Phantom

The relative silence of an urban neighborhood late at night was broken by the thunder of four motorcycles as they cruised down the street carrying their treacherous riders.

They cruised through Winnipeg's notorious north end with purpose and those who watched them go by suspected ill intent.

They continued down the nearly barren street until they reached an adult entertainment shop made out of an old convenience store. It's faded white stucco walls and warped shingles betrayed the buildings age.

The bikers dismounted three of them wearing denim vests with a large flaming skull patch on the back. The third one wore a simple jean jacket and brown work pants.

A large burly man with a shaven head and a beard stepped away from the motorcycles. The others referred to him only as leader as was policy in their gang.

The other men were Hank; an average sized man with long curly brown hair and large hands alongside Jack; a smaller man with a nasty right hook were the other patched members of their group.

Lastly there was Prospect. The rather demeaning title given to those who desired membership in their gang. A rather skinny young man compared to the rest but he had potential.

"You go in first Prospect", Leader said. "We'll see how you handle this."

"I'll handle it", he said as he pulled a baseball bat from under his jacket. "Just watch."

The entered the shop and looked around.

There were the usual things. Adult movies, sex toys, magazines and all sorts of perverted things.

The shop smelled old and dusty and the brown wooden walls and shelves made the room dark despite the fluorescent illumination.

With a quiet nod Leader told Jack and Hank to stay behind and guard the door while he and Prospect dealt with 'business'.

As prospect drifted toward the back of the store he tried to act natural by browsing through the shelves contents, keeping his cool for now.

Leader drifted towards the right out of the vision of whoever was at the counter and reached back within his vest and pulled a tire iron out of its sheath.

Eventually Leader and Prospect met near the counter and made their move.

A middle aged Pilipino man stood behind the counter reading a magazine and occasionally glancing at the door behind him. He took no notice of them.

Prospect walked up to the store clerk with his bat hidden from view.

"Heard you were interested in a business partner", he said in an arrogant tone.

"You heard wrong", the clerk replied without looking up from his magazine. "I have a business partner already."

"Well we represent a better business partner that can offer you plenty of good benefits."

The clerk raised his head. "Not interested." He revealed a shotgun pointed at Prospect's chest. "Understood."

With incredible swiftness Leader swung his tire iron and knocked the weapon away from Prospect.

As the gun left the clerks hands his finger pulled the trigger and it fired blowing small holes in the wall.

Prospect brought forth his bat and swung down hard on the clerks head.

With a wet crack the clerk collapsed to the ground blood seeping onto the floor as he lay with his face down and still.

Suddenly the door opened and a small man peered through the door. Upon noticing the bikers he quickly retreated with the two men hot on his heels.

Leader chased him through the back room navigating between stacks of magazines and movies until they cornered the small man as he struggled to open the door.

Leader swung his tire iron at the man's torso breaking his ribs and making him collapse to his knees with an agonizing cry and then gave him another swing to the side of the head.

A moment of silence passed until Leader turned to Prospect.

"That's how you take'em down. Remember that."

Prospect didn't reply as he followed Leader to the front of the store.

"Aren't we gonna hide the bodies?" Prospect asked.

"We want them to be found", the larger man responded.

Prospect didn't understand but remained silent.

They got to the front door and stopped.

"I told you two to watch the door!", Leader yelled.

Standing in between Hank and Jack was a short female. She only looked about twelve.

"Aw come on, she's harmless", Hank said dismissively. "Just look at her."

"I am", Leader growled. "She's a kid."

Jack put up his hand.

"No no. The right word is petite."

Leader had to admit that without the baby fat on her body she could have passed for a very short woman. Especially considering the provocative outfit she was wearing.

She hid her face beneath a scarlet hooded cape that was kept around her neck by a golden clasp. Beneath that was a tight black top that covered her chest but left her belly exposed .She wore a short red skirt that created the illusion that it was simply draped over her hips and thighs and was held up by a golden string. On her hands were a pair of red leather gloves. On her feet were a pair of black leather boots that went halfway up her legs.

Underneath the clasp of her cape was a ruby pendant that seemed to glow faintly. It was mezmerizing.

"What are you doing here kid? Go home.", Leader said.

The girl cocked her head to one side.

"Why? Are you boys in some trouble?"

Leader swore he could see her smirking under her hood.

Suddenly Prospect lunged for her.

She jumped strait up in the air and kicked off the door then landed on a bookshelf so gracefully it didn't even wobble.

"Awww so close", she taunted. "Looks like your brotherhoods newest prospect needs work still."

Prospect gritted his teeth angrily and shoulder checked the shelf causing it to topple.

Calmly the girl hopped off and landed on Prospect's shoulders knocking him to the ground.

Prospect grunted and tried to get up but the girl stood on his chest.

"Tsk tsk. Such a temperamental pup.

She reached inside her cape and pulled out what looked like a beveled triangular prism with a gold spike.

"Maybe you should be put to sleep."

Jack charged pulling a golf club from his back within his jacket.

The girl pointed the spiked weapon at him and it burst forward the spike impaling his skull clean through.

The weapon pulled itself out and somehow remained suspended in the air as Jacks body hit the floor.

The remaining thugs looked on in absolute terror at the disturbing device. It's 'head' was raised above the long chain that was attached to the back of it and linked the spiked weapon to it's mistress who held the chain firmly in her hands.

Freaking out Hank went for the door, and like a venomous snake the weapon struck.

The spike separated revealing itself to be three evenly space golden claws from each corner of the 'head'.

The grapple slammed into the back of Hanks head and then the claws pulled him back away from the door and crushed his skull like an eggshell.

Leader panicked and ran along the far side of the store trying to get to the back door.

Prospect tried to take advantage of the girl's distraction and lashed out with fists.

His fists barely grazed her legs as she hopped out of the way and drew something else from her cape.

A bright golden flash was the last thing he ever saw.

Leader leapt over the desk almost tripping over the store clerks body and dashed into the back room. The back door at last in sight he forced himself to move faster, faster than he had ever moved before.

Suddenly something wrapped around his legs and tripped him, he felt his hands brush the door as he fell. He crashed to the ground and then he felt something cold and sharp press against his neck.

Attached to the other end of the chain was a golden double edged blade that served as the chains 'tail' and it was poised to slit his throat.

"You shouldn't run from me", the mysterious girl said darkly as she approached him. "I get upset."

She knelt down beside him. "Do you know what happens when I get upset?"

He looked at her with desperate pleading eyes.

"People get hurt."

The grapple suddenly came into view from behind her it's claws still dripping with Hank's blood. The chain began to shake making a sound that disturbingly matched that of a rattlesnake.

"Wait I'll do anything you want! I'll-" He was cut off as the metal blade punctured his throat and severed his spine.

"What I want is for you to shut up.", she said coldly.

She stood up and surveyed the room as Leader's blood collected in a small pool around his body.

"All targets eliminated", a dark feminine voice said in her mind. "You took your time with this one."

The girl shrugged

"I wanted a little fun."

The chains 'tail' moved and cut Leaders back pocket revealing his wallet. She grabbed it and pocketed the bills.

"Stealing money now?, the voice asked teasingly.

"All hotel rooms in hell are free", the girl remarked. "So he won't need it now."

The voice sighed.

"I do wonder what kind of man you will marry Scarlet."

Scarlet smirked.

"Keep wondering cause I'm not telling you."

She repeated the process with the other three and prepared to leave.

"You're not going for the register?"

Scarlet frowned.

"I'm an assassin not a thief", she said firmly. "Steeling from thugs is one thing but from someone's livelihood is another."

"You don't even want some of the toys they have here?", the voice asked in a teasing voice. "I saw you looking at them when we came in. Naughty girl."

Scarlet's face flustered.

"I was only looking out of curiosity."

"What about one of those outfits over on the rack?"

Scarlet's face wrinkled in disgust.

"You would never find me in one of those trashy contraptions", she snapped. "Now let's get out of here before I become even more disgusted."

Her red cape came alive and wrapped itself around her then she disappeared.

In Shinjuku school was out for the day and none was more excited than Takato Matsuki who ran out of the school gates well ahead of his friends.

The day was bright and sunny with only a few clouds in the sky. The air was fresh and school was done and with no homework to boot. It could only get better from here.

"Hurry up slow pokes", he yelled back at his friends. "You want to see the surprise don't you!"

His friends were a short ways behind trying to catch up.

"Yeah but we want to have the energy to enjoy it when we get there", Kenta whined.

"You'd do better in school if you were this energetic in gym class", Henry remarked.

They ran all the way until they reached the edge of the park.

"Why did we have to run the whole way?" Kazu asked. "We're good running from the park to school not the other way around."

"Relax guys", Takato encouraged. "We're almost there it's just at the hideout."

Kenta groaned.

"Great, uphill."

"Come on", Henry said annoyed. Their complaining was really getting him down.

They marched up the hill and the concrete steps to the small cement shack at the top and saw someone else standing outside and instantly Kazu and Kenta's exhaustion vanished.

"Hey Ryo."

Henry was surprised.

"You invited Ryo too?"

Takato nodded.

"Yep and Rika and Jeri. We'll just wait for them before I show everyone."

Henry sighed.

"All right but if it's another tamer flag Rika's going to kill you."

Takato chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, but don't worry it's much better than that."

Henry turned serious.

"Takato is this about a way we can bring our digimon back? If it is then is it a good idea to involve Jeri?"

Takato frowned.

"I know she doesn't have a partner any more but I think it would hurt her more if we left her behind."

Henry's eyes widened and he grabbed Takato by the shoulders.

"You found the portal?"

Takato scratched the back of his head.

"Well yeah but I wanted to let everyone know at the same time so-"

Takato stopped when he noticed Henry was looking past him. He turned to look and saw Rika and Jeri walking up the steps.

Rika was in her usual jeans and heart shirt and Jeri wore her usual green dress but with a light brown shirt underneath.

They were chatting lightly as they walked up both looking genuinely happy. Jeri for some reason Jeri seemed to bring out the best in Rika. But of course that seemed true with everyone she met.

The two girls stopped their conversation once they reached the rest of the group.

"Hello everyone!", Jeri greeted cheerfully.

Rika didn't say anything and merely stood beside Jeri, although Takato noticed her frown slightly when she spotted Ryo.

It was worse when her eyes locked with his. He wasn't entirely sure why but her gaze always made him nervous. He supposed it was partly because of the history between them but then the same gaze from those vibrant violet eyes made most people nervous.

"So what's this about goggle head?", she demanded.

Takato shook off his nervousness now that the moment had finally come. He strode up to the hideout and stood in front of the entrance facing his friends standing as if he were on a grand podium.

"Fellow Tamers I am honored to announce to you today that the portal to the digital world has been found."

Everyone besides the already informed Henry went wide eyed with shock.

Kazu and Kenta scrambled into the hideout and as a result of both of them fighting to get into the hole first fell in rather clumsily.

"Out of the way Kenta.

"I was here first."

Irritated Rika stomped up to the shack and yelled inside.

"Knock it off you two dweebs and tell us if the portals there!"

Takato felt hurt. Did she not trust him?

Sensing what he was thinking Jeri put a hand on his arm in a comforting gesture.

"She just likes to make sure", she whispered softly. "I'm sure she trusts you with her life."

Takato sighed but smiled.

"Thanks Jeri."

"Chumly's on the money!" Kazu yelled from inside the hole.

The two climbed out and Kenta thrust his fist in the air excitedly.

"What are we waiting for? Let's pack up out gear and go!"

Henry shook his head.

"We can't do that. We can't do it like last time. I don't think our parents will even let us go."

Rika snorted.

"Well unlike some people I don't need permission to go after my friends."

"That goes double for me", Kazu chimed in.

"That's only cause you're a natural trouble maker Kazu", Kenta remarked.

"Same as you", he snapped back.

Henry held up his hands.

"Whoa guys I never said that they wouldn't let us go. What has me most worried is how we're going to bring them back.

Going to the digital world and finding them is the easy part it's finding a way to come home that's tricky. Mr. McCoy was the one who designed the Ark and he left for north America about a month ago."

Suddenly the ringing of a cell phone interrupted and Rika answered.

"Hello? Grandma? Yeah everyone's here." A look of surprise came over Rika's face and this got everyone's attention. "Okay bye."

Rika hung up and looked at everyone.

"We're all supposed to meet at Hypnos. Our parents are going to meet us there."

Kazu looked worried.

"This doesn't sound good."

Although no one else said anything out loud they were all thinking the same thing.

At Hypnos in the control room Yamaki watched as a red indicator slowly traveled across the screen ceiling.

"Yuggoth away", Riley announced.

Yamaki showed no facial expression but he had his hand in his pocket and gripped the lighter tightly as he awaited the results.

Yuggoth tracked the red indicator and swiftly collided with it and both vanished from the monitor.

"Target destroyed", Tally reported.

Yamaki resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

That had been the third digimon that day that had attempted to enter the real world and had successfully breached the natural barrier. Only a strong digimon could do that but fortunately they were so weakened from forcing their way through the barrier that Yuggoth was able to destroy them. For now.

"Very good. Try and collect as much data as you can."

One of the technicians ran up the stairs onto the platform.

"Sir the children have arrived."

This time Yamaki couldn't restrain himself from sighing. He hadn't been looking forward to this.

"Right then, let's get this over with."

The children would be thrilled he had little doubt of that, it was the parents he was concerned about.

Everyone sat crowded into the lecture hall in one of the buildings lower levels all talking to each other about why they were there but all of them had a strong suspicion that is wasn't good.

The room fell silent as the door opened and Yamaki stepped into the room.

"Thank you all for coming", he began. "I apologize for the short notice but time is of the essence."

He walked over to the front of the room where the Monster Makers stood grouped around a computer connected to a ceiling mounted projector.

"I suppose to show you I'm not wasting your time I should tell you that you are all in danger."

Everyone stood upright suddenly alert and afraid.

Yamaki pressed a button on the computer and an image of a large circle with numerous lines running through it was projected on the screen.

"This is a map that was created from acquired data from what is technically a branch of the Hypnos network in North America. The circle representing the real world and the centre representing the digital world."

He pointed to a spot on the circle that had many lines connected to it.

"This is Shinjuku and these black lines represent lines of communication or paths that the D-Reaper used to communicate with itself."

His audience shivered at the mention of the terrible menace that nearly destroyed their world.

"Right now we're safe thanks to the natural barrier that exists between the real world and the digital world. Any digimon that have been able to get through we've been able to deal with them quite easily, but it's only a matter of time before the barrier weakens to the point that we won't be able stop them from emerging into the real world."

Yamaki pressed another button on the computer and a different window opened showing a picture of what looked like a park.

"Is that from world war two?", Kazu asked.

Yamaki turned around and looked at the projected image.

"It certainly looks like it doesn't it."

As more pictures of the same park cycled through the amount of destruction was made more clear.

Many trees were knocked down in the same manner as seen in many war films and images. As if they had been knocked down by continued gun fire and explosives. Many holes punctured the ground like the kind left by strafing aircraft a classic shot in war films. It was unnerving.

Yamaki turned back towards the audience.

"But actually this picture was taken just last week."

He brought back the image of the circle and pointed on the side opposite of Shinjuku.

"This is a city called Winnipeg in Canada.

"Back when the D-Reaper was here the two largest connections with the real world the D-Reaper had were here and in Winnipeg.

"Here Juggernaut sucked the D-Reaper down and the hole it had created in the barrier between our world and the digital world was filled by Juggernaut until it was restored properly. But Winnipeg didn't have that luxury. The hole was never really filled completely and after the digital world recovered instead of coming here they ended up being diverted to Winnipeg as part of an echo process left behind from the D-Reaper.

"This basically means that the digimon that were supposed to show up here ended up going there instead, and while this is good for us for now they will eventually start coming here again and when they do your children will be in great danger."

The children themselves weren't surprised in the least but the parents were and immediately started shouting questions all at once.

Yamaki held up his hands to try and silence them.

"Please all your questions will be answered I only ask for your patience so that we can explain everything to you properly."

The parents calmed down and went silent each looking worried and maybe even desperate.

Clearing his throat Yamaki continued.

"This is just one location."

He changed to an image of another park but this one had play structures that had bullet holes and as the images cycled they saw that the grounds were riddled with craters.

"This is another location that we believe digimon battled. You may have noticed a link between the two places I showed you."

"They're both parks?", Mr. Matsuki tried.

Yamaki nodded.

"Yes and parks are a place where lots of children gather."

The parents looked mortified as several pieces fit into place.

"But why would they come after our children after the saved us all?", Mr. Akiyama cried!

"I'll handle this", Shibumi said as he took Yamaki's place. Yamaki was only too happy to give it to him.

"A digimon's strength comes from their relationship with children, specifically a tamer. Many digimon seek out these children so they can become stronger. I imagine that after the D-Reaper many digimon have heard about the great deeds that your children did and now they want to have that kind of power so they have been trying to enter the real world in an attempt to achieve this and they will start in places children gather to look for a strong tamer."

Janyuu stepped in.

"Since our kids are already accomplished tamers they will be the first ones they will look for the most."

Kenta's father interrupted.

"But our kids already have their own digimon!"

Janyuu nodded.

"Yes and those same digimon are the only ones who can protect our children from the digimon who will inevitably come after them."

Rika's mother spoke next.

"Are you saying that our children need to go back to, to that dangerous place?"

Yamaki stepped in again.

"There's no other choice. They are the only ones who can go there and find them. I know it sounds contradictory to what we're trying to accomplish here but there's no other way."

Babel decided to add his own two cents.

"Look at it this way; if the digimon expect your kids to be here then sending them there is the last thing they'll expect."

Daisy moved towards the computer.

"Plus we have an ace up our sleeve."

She fiddled with the computer a bit an a new screen came up. It seemed pretty blank.

"This is a tracker program we developed", she explained. "Using one of the kids digivices we can track their digimon live from here."

"Would you mind helping us show everyone Suzie?", Janyuu asked his youngest.

Eagerly the small pink haired girl hopped off her seat and ran up to the front.

Daisy took out a small cord and connected Suzie's pink digivice to the computer.

"Now it should just take a moment."

Sure enough after a few minutes wait a small symbol appeared on the screen.

Suzie looked at it in awe and excitement quickly overwhelmed her and the others as each one of them ran up to see where their digimon partner was.

Time and again the different digivices were hooked up and time and again the tracker indicated the very same spot.

"So all the digimon are together then", Yamaki said thoughtfully.

"Which means we only need one person to stay behind", Henry said.

All the tamers crowded around the computer looked down at Suzie who looked rather awkward to suddenly have everyone's gaze on her.

"But I don't wanna stay", she pouted with teary eyes. "I wanna go save Lopmon!"

Curley knelt down and gently laid her hand on Suzie.

"If you want to save Lopmon then the best way for you to do that is to stay here so that we will know where she is and everyone can find her. We all have our own job Suzie, this is yours and it's the most important one."

Suzie looked up at her.

"Weally?"

Curley nodded.

Suzie looked thoughtful and looked past the other tamers to Jeri who was sitting in her chair looking very sad.

Suzie ran past the small crowd and up to brown haired girl.

"Jewi you'll get Lopmon fow me wight?"

Jeri looked down at the young girl stunned.

"Oh, Suzie I-"

"That's a great idea!", Takato said excitedly. "We need someone to get Impmon too Jeri."

Jeri looked down at her feet.

"I don't know."

"Please Jeri", Takato pleaded. "I really-We really want you to come with us."

Takato was blushing slightly and it didn't go unnoticed but Jeri didn't seem to care.

She looked down at Suzie and smiled.

"Sure I'll go for you. I'll make sure to bring Lopmon back."

Suzie hugged the older girl.

"Tank you Jewi!"

Jeri hugged the girl back.

'It's what Leomon would've wanted me to do.'

Yamaki nodded.

"Now that that's settled we can make preparations. I believe you kids already found the portal."

The tamers all turned and stared at him in shock.

"How did you know?", Takato asked breathlessly.

"We detected it just yesterday", Yamaki explained. "The fact that you were all gathered at the park made me assume you found it."

"Is that how we're getting in?", Ryo asked.

Yamaki nodded.

"Yes. And you'll be travelling with this."

Yamaki reached into his pocket and pulled out a device that looked just like the one he had given Takato when they first went to the digital world.

"This is a new and improved version of the data pad I gave you before", he said. "It should work properly."

He addressed the entire assembly.

"Since food and water aren't needed in the digital world they should be able to pack light. Preferably tomorrow would be the best time to leave."

"So soon?", Rika's mother asked.

"We have to act quickly before the portal closes", Janyuu explained. "I know it's hard but it has to be done."

Yamaki nodded.

"Right then we'll meet at the park tomorrow morning and hopefully this'll all be over soon. Thank you for your time."

Without another word Yamaki left the room.

"Not much for dramatic exits it he", Kenta remarked.

"I'm sure he just has better things to do", Henry said.

As each family piled out of the room each person wondered what tomorrow would bring.

Halfway around the world Elle was getting ready for school. She was wearing a pair of light brown shorts and a yellow shirt with her bright yellow shoes.

She was eager to start the day. She would go to school and the first thing she would do was tell the boys not to be grumpy just because it was a monday.

She sighed. Boys were just like children no matter how old they got.

"Do you have everything?", her mother asked.

"Yes mother."

Her mother paused and looked at her school bag. One of the straps was just barely held on by a few remaining threads.

"Hmmm looks like I'll have to sew that up. We'll probably have to get you a new one."

"It's fine for today", Elle said confidently.

Her mother smiled and kissed her daughters forehead.

"Alright sweetie have a good day."

"I will", Elle called as she went out the door.

It was a bright sunny day and a warm morning. The kind of day that Winnipeg 'The Sunny City' was famous for.

She turned off her street onto once of Transconas busier roads.

Shops, restaurants, and strip malls lined the road. Most of the buildings were over forty years old and faded brick was the most dominant decorative theme on this street.

As she passed the Laundromat she saw a young woman struggling to hold on to a stroller while fiddling with her purse and phone.

Elle hustled over and held the stroller with her foot.

"I'll hold it for you."

The woman smiled and gave a nod of thanks then turned her focus to her phone call.

Elle looked down into the stroller and was immediately overcome.

"Awww what a cute little darling!"

A baby girl wearing a pink bonnet and jammies lay in the stroller staring up at her with big brown eyes.

Elle started to play with the baby. Tickling her and letting her grip her finger.

The young woman hung up her phone and sighed.

"Thank you."

Elle smiled.

"It's no problem. She's adorable."

"Thank you, her name is Megan."

Elle smiled at the baby and caressed her little cheeks.

"Hi Megan I'm Elle."

She looked at her watch.

"Sorry I have to be going, nice meeting you."

"Good bye", the woman said as Elle ran off.

Elle ran down the street and turned into an alleyway; a shortcut she usually took.

At the end of the alley was a tall wooden fence with several stacks of wooden pallets in front of it in three gradually taller rows.

She ran and jumped on the first and then the second stack of pallets. But as she jumped onto the third the worn strap on her bag finally gave and her bag slipped off her shoulders and she had too much momentum to stop so she jumped off the pallet stack and landed gracefully on the ground on the other side of the fence.

"Have to go back for it", she muttered.

She started to run back when all of a sudden a piece of cloth was suddenly pulled over her mouth and something pinched her neck and she blacked out.

* * *

**So here it was. I hope I've improved. I hope you enjoyed it. What will become of Elle? What of the Scarlet Phantom? Wait and see.**


	16. The Journey Begins

Tamers West

Chapter 16: The Journey Begins

Alice struggled with her extra heavy back pack filled with homework and the textbooks she had been forced to bring home to complete it.

She felt something bump gently into her leg and start rubbing against it.

Smiling she knelt down and gently rubbed her partners head.

"Don't worry Paomon I'll be back after school."

Paomon purred in response.

"Hurry up Alice or you'll be late", her mother warned.

"I'm going", Alice called back.

She gave Paomon one last pet and went out the door.

Paomon was surprisingly independent despite how he was when he first appeared. He never put up a fuss when she had to leave, and she was grateful for it. It also showed the maturity that she remembered from Dobermon.

It was encouraging because she had been worrying that he would be different, that he wouldn't be the friend she remembered from before.

To an extent she still worried about it but less more so now because something else was bothering her.

She couldn't quite pin it down but something was wrong, as if something bad was going to happen or already had. The ominous overcast sky did nothing to assure her otherwise.

Up ahead she saw Xander and Jeff talking to each other. Were they waiting for her?

They soon spotted her and ceased their talk as she approached.

"Need an escort?", Jeff asked teasingly.

Alice smiled.

"No thank you but I wouldn't mind some company."

Xander shrugged.

"I guess we can do that too."

They started walking towards school with the boys on either side of Alice.

None of them spoke for a while. They simply walked in silence the boys occasionally glancing at the blonde girl between them until Xander finally broke the silence.

"Is something bothering you Alice?"

A little startled she looked at him, his concern plainly displayed on his face.

She frowned and looked at the ground.

"I just have a bad feeling. I don't know what it means."

Jeff looked up at the sky.

"Maybe it's going to rain?"

Xander looked at him slightly exasperated.

"I think it's about something a bit more important Jeff."

"I hope not", Alice said. "I don't want something bad to happen."

Xander shrugged.

"No one does Alice, but if it happens it happens and there isn't anything we can do to change it after that, so don't bother worrying about it."

Alice sighed.

"I guess you're right."

Still it kept nagging at her. It was important she could feel it. But what was it?

A bright half-moon cast it's silver rays onto Shinjuku, bathing the city in a warm glow and making the park much more inviting and less creepy to those who didn't frequent it. But for the three twelve year-olds it didn't matter what the light or the weather was like. The park was basically their second home.

Henry, Takato and Rika all stood inside the shed out of sight from prying eyes.

They said nothing, even Takato who had summoned the other two remained silent.

Perhaps it was because they all knew why they were.

Eventually Henry broke the painful silence.

"I guess we already know why we're here."

Takato looked down at his feet.

"A dream."

Rika nodded.

"Yeah."

Henry's expression turned solemn and serious.

"I saw Terriermon get attacked by a fast vicious digimon."

Takato nodded.

"Yeah, Guilmon did too. I couldn't see what it was."

Rika scowled.

"I saw Renamon get stabbed in the back." She shut her eyes tightly as if reliving the memory first hand.

Henry frowned.

"I guess it's clear now that this was more than just a dream."

Rika opened her eyes.

"So what do we do about it?"

Takato stepped forward with uncharacteristic authority.

"Exactly what we were gonna do anyway! We go to the digital world and we bring them home."

Rika looked irritated.

"If we're planning to do what we were going to do anyway then what was the point in meeting here tonight?"

Now it was Henry's turn.

"We now know that someone's after our digimon. There's no way an attack like that was random and when we go down there I'm sure they'll be after us too."

"Let them", Rika hissed. "I'll show them what happens when they mess with us!"

She looked up and gazed fiercely at the two boys.

"Nobody messes with my partner!"

"Take it easy Rika!", Takato pleaded with his hands raised. "We're on your side."

"Do yourself a favor and stay that way", she threatened. "We are going to find whoever did this and make them pay a thousand fold for this!"

Rika's eyes were burning with passionate rage as if she were a warrior charging into battle.

"They'll find us soon enough Rika", Henry said trying to calm the fiery haired girl down. "We won't need to look for them."

Rika crossed her arms.

"Of course we will brainiac", she retorted. "Once they see me coming they'll run for their lives."

'Any sane person would', Takato thought to himself.

"What was that gogglehead?"

Takato snapped to attention as he found himself on the receiving end of Rika's infamous glare.

"Uh, nothing Rika!"

Rika narrowed her eyes but mercifully let it pass, for now.

"You both better be on time tomorrow or you'll regret it." She pounded her fist into her palm for emphasis then without another word marched out of the shed.

The two boys stood on either side of the path and watched her go.

"Did I really say that out loud?" Takato asked.

Henry sighed.

"Yep."

Takato slapped his forehead.

"I really got to be more careful."

Henry smirked.

"She's gonna kill you one of these days if you're not Takato."

Now it was his turn to sigh.

"I just don't understand why she got so mad?"

Henry stared at him.

"You couldn't tell?"

Takato looked at the blue haired boy confused.

"Tell what?"

Henry's solemn expression was one of mature understanding, and maybe a little bit of pity.

"She's worried Takato. Rika doesn't like showing weakness so it's how she deals with worrying."

Takato felt sad for Rika.

"Maybe there's something we can do for her."

Henry shook his head.

"No Takato. That's something we have to leave alone for Rika to deal with herself. Some things only one person can do."

Takato frowned. He didn't like the idea of just leaving it alone but Henry was right. Interfering would just make things worse.

"I better get home before it gets late", Henry said as he began to descend the steps. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Henry", Takato said as he left.

As he watched Henry go he thought about what they were about to do.

They had gone to the digital world before but they had their digimon then and the digital world was fraught with dangers.

Despite his nervousness he didn't feel any less willing to go, but the thought was enough to make him wonder:

"What if we get found before we find our digimon. "What will we do?"

Alice sat down at her desk as the national anthem ended along with the rest of the class and their teacher began roll call.

Thus far the day was proceeding normally but the bad feeling still clung to her desperately.

"Elle Kowalchuck?"

Elle's name was called but there was no answer and it sent chills down Alice's spine.

Puzzled the teacher marked her absent and the normal light chatter that happened at this time began throughout the class.

Alice now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her bad feeling was about Elle.

She looked over at Ciel. Her brows were furrowed deeply and her eyes were distant. She was no doubt wondering what could have happened to the girl.

Alice could only wonder the same.

"Where are you Elle?"

With one last stone Guardromon was at last finished his wall. Rather than just filling a gap this was a more purposeful as a full on barrier.

After the attack the digimon had relocated to a small cave a short distance from where they were. He could still see the high rock formations in the distance through the small gap between the wall and the ceiling of the cave.

The entrance to the cave was ideally hidden in a cluster of large jagged rocks and boulders, and with the stone barrier in place it was nearly invisible.

Inside the cave was carved into barren red rock with a small layer of sand on the floor. It curved like a fish hook as it sloped downward and it was at the end of the fish hook where the digimon currently rested.

When Guardromon returned to them they were all as when he had left.

Impmon sat with his back against the wall barely awake and miraculously still in one piece having been saved by MarineAngemon's healing powers. The tiny mega was sleeping on a small patch of sand exhausted from the efforts of trying to heal the three In-Training digimon that had once been Terriermon, Guilmon, and Renamon.

Lopmon simply sat on a raised boulder looking in the direction of the three unconscious devolved digimon but was lost in the realm of her own mind.

Out of concern for his friend walked over to her.

"Are you all right Lopmon?"

Startled the bunny digimon was yanked out of her thoughts and she looked up at him.

"Oh, well, I was just thinking."

She looked back at the In-Trainings with a frown.

"About the fiend who attacked us?" Guardromon inquired.

Lopmon shook her head slowly.

"I was thinking about our tamers. I don't know if we'll ever see them again."

Guardromon understood. After literally months of being away from their tamers doubt had began to manifest in their thoughts, but he couldn't allow that, they couldn't.

"I'm certain we'll see them again," He assured her. "Kazu will not rest until we are reunited and I'm sure the others won't either."

Lopmon sighed.

"You're right. I was wrong to doubt them."

"We all miss them, but we must persevere or we may not see them again. Besides I'm sure they miss us too."

Lopmon nodded in agreement.

"So where's Calumon?"

Guardromon's eyes flickered in surprise.

"Wasn't he here?"

"I thought he was with you!"

Lopmon looked around worriedly.

"Monodramon's gone too!"

Guardromon was alarmed. Where could they have gone to?

A short distance away Monodramon and Calumon ran around frantically trying to catch the packets of old data that rolled like tumbleweeds across the desolate plains.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?", Monodramon asked his tiny companion.

Calumon dove at one of the packets but missed falling face first into the course ground before he answered.

"If we get enough of these bright balls then our friends will get all better!", he replied enthusiastically.

Without waiting for a response the hyperactive digimon ran off after another data packet.

While Monodramon couldn't fault Calumon's logic he didn't think they should be out here in the open on their own. Still they were here now so they might as well make the most of it or else they would have risked their lives for nothing.

So for a while they chased after them with some success but when they caught one it was very difficult to go after another without dropping the ones they had already aquired.

Exhausted the two of them sat down with their back against a boulder catching their breath.

"We need more than just two", Monodramon panted.

"Oh what're we gonna do?", Calumon whined.

"Having some trouble?"

The two looked up to see another digimon standing before them. One they had never seen before.

He looked like a Gatomon with charcoal fur and black stripes. His paws lacked the gloves that Gatomon normally possessed, instead he had golden slits on the back of his paws. Finally a pair of orange dragon like wings came out of his back and looked large enough to allow him flight, of course in the digital world size didn't matter much in anything.

"Hi", Calumon greeted with his normal friendly approach to strangers unfazed by his exhaustion.

The figure nodded at him.

"You two are doing it all wrong. Sometimes it's best to be patient and use your head a little more."

He walked away from the shelter of the boulder and stood out where they had chased the data packets and stood perfectly still.

A few rolled past him a few meters away. Calumon and Monodramon flinched expecting him to chase after them but her remained unmoving.

A moment later he sidestepped to the right and put his palm forward and stopped a rolling data packed dead, much to the awe of the other two digimon.

He picked it up and tossed it over to them then quickly sidestepped and stopped another one.

Monodramon and Calumon were astonished. He walked over to them and tossed the last data packet to Calumon.

"That should be enough", he said. "Now you better get going before the night comes."

Eagerly they turned back the way they came but Monodramon stopped and turned around.

"Hey wait what's your name?"

Much to his surprise the mysterious digimon had vanished.

"Where'd he go huh?", Calumon asked.

"No idea", Monodramon said.

They decided to push the matter aside and made a mad dash back towards the cave.

Guardromon stood on top of the cave looking out towards the horizon for any sign of Monodramon or Calumon.

"When did they go past me?", he asked himself. He had been building the barrier virtually the entire time and didn't remember anyone going past him.

"You see them?"

"Not yet", Guardromon reported.

MarineAngemon made a worried sound then followed the machine digimon's gaze.

"Something's coming!", Guardromon said.

MarineAngemon flew up higher and reported from above.

"They're back", he squeaked excitedly.

"What?"

Guardromon narrowed his eyes and sure enough he saw Monodramon and what looked like Calumon both running towards the cave.

Guardromon hopped down to the ground to meet them.

"Where did you go?", he asked them.

The two stopped in front of him panting heavily.

"We went to get some old data to help out friends heal", Monodramon replied.

"On your own? That's dangerous!"

"Bad Idea", MarineAngemon added.

"It's the digital world", Monodramon countered. "It's always dangerous."

Ignoring any further criticism Monodramon and Calumon went through the hole in the partially disassembled barrier into the cave.

Guardromon sighed.

"Now I have to build it all over again."

Deeper into the cave the two venturous digimon returned to the others and gently set the data packets on the ground.

"Where did you go?", Lopmon scolded in a hushed tone to avoid disturbing the sleeping digimon.

Calumon's ears retreated and he pouted.

"We were just trying to help."

"You can help by not giving us more to worry about." She retorted. "Now go give them the data."

"You're welcome", Monodramon muttered.

The only conscious member of the invalid, Impmon gratefully accepted the data from Calumon while Monodramon distributed it amongst the other three.

As the injured absorbed the data Monodramon thought about the strange digimon that had helped them before vanishing.

Had he followed them back? Was he friend or foe?

Alice opened her locker and looked for anything different, anything out of place from when she had visited it that morning, looking for any indication that Elle had been there that day. Sadly it was untouched, not a single thing out of place or different.

Sunk she closed her locker and with deliberate slowness she locked it.

"Buck up Alice", Ciel told her. "I'm sure Elle's just fine. She allows us to be concerned but not depressed."

Alice frowned.

"I can't help it."

Alice had always been able to keep her emotions in check before, even when she had lost Dobermon she had been able to keep it together. So why was this so different?

Ciel grabbed her arm.

"Come on the boys are waiting."

Despite Alice's inability to control them now she could usually tell when someone else was hiding their emotions. Ciel was forcing the smile on her face, it was obvious by the look behind her eyes. She knew she was putting up that facade because she didn't want to show her true emotions. She knew this all too well.

Skye caught up with them just as they reached the outside door.

"Should we call her parents?"

Ciel shook her head.

"The school's probably already done that. If we call it'll only worry them more."

Outside the boys waited for them by the trees all acting perfectly normal and blissfully unaware of Elle's absence.

"Hey girls", Mike greeted.

"Where's Elle?", Jeff asked.

Ciel's false smile vanished. Alice wondered if it was because the boys could see through it anyway or she simply couldn't hold it under their pressure.

"She's absent", Sky answered. "She never showed up."

Ciel shot Skye a cold glare that Alice found uncharacteristic of her. Perhaps she was going to break the news more gently? Or maybe she was going to come up with a white lie?

Alice read the boys reactions and they were not encouraging.

They looked at each other nervously, their eyes became distant as they focused inwardly. she imagined they were running various scenarios through their minds about how Elle might have become absent.

"Let's not think about it now", Ciel said in an authoritative voice. "Let's just have lunch."

Nobody seemed to willing but they complied with the 'suggestion. Still they didn't talk much. Even Ciel could only think about what had happened to her friend.

The rising sun cast it's pleasant light over the still sleeping city of west Shinjuku. Well, mostly sleeping.

A large group of people was gathered near the concrete shed which housed the portal to the digital world.

Yamaki's people had set up a guard around the perimeter of the park to allow no uninvited guests inside.

The tamers and their parents were all gathered together at the bottom of the steps leading up to the shed.

Janyuu Wong set up a small computer station while the rest of the Monster Makers were in Hypnos tower making sure all their equipment was working.

"All right we're good to go", he announced.

Yamaki took a deep breath and exhaled.

"All right then let's get this show on the road."

He approached the family's still having lively and in some cased desperate conversations.

"If you haven't said goodbye yet then now's the time."

If the look of worry and sadness on the parent's faces were bad before they were worse now. They began to hug their children telling them they would be waiting and that they didn't have to go if they didn't want to.

The children in turn reassured them and said that they were going no matter what.

'A scene strait from a drama class textbook', Yamaki thought to himself.

Finally the children began to step away and approached him.

'Like soldiers about to leave for war', Yamaki mused with a hint of nostalgia, and like commanders from those moment both in film and reality he looked at the faces of those who were about to leave home and go to a foreign land.

Mandy of them showed nervousness but none of them showed fear. They possessed a confidence like fighting men: knowing what they had to do, ready to fight.

"Are we ready Janyu?"

Janyu answered but his eyes remained glued to the screen intensely.

"According to Suzies digivice the digimon have relocated about the equivalent of six kilometers to the south east and are stationary.

Yamaki nodded.

"Very well."

He picked up a suitcase lying on the ground and held it in front of him as though he was presenting it to the tamers. He snapped open the two clasps that held it closed and opened it.

The tamers looked in awe at what was inside.

"After reviewing what happened last time I figured you could use these, in case you get separated again."

The tamers each reached in and took one of the devices.

"What are they exactly?", Henry asked.

"These are PDAs", Yamaki answered. "Newer and more powerful that the old communicator I gave you last time."

"I bet the camera feature still won't work there", Kenta muttered.

Janyu laughed.

"Don't worry Shibumi fixed that and everything else should work in the digital world too." He got up and walked over them.

"So we'd like you to use the camera To document what you see in the digital world."

"We're going there to recue our digimon not to go sightseeing", Rika snapped.

"Relax Rika", Henry said trying to calm the red head down. "It's something we can do as long as we're there."

She didn't acknowledge him, she simply crossed her arms and turned away.

"Aww come on Wildcat", Ryo said smoothly as he went to put his arm around her. "You don't have to be like that."

Rika jabbed him in the ribs causing him to jump back painfully and groan in pain.

"Don't touch.", Rika growled.

Satisfied she had made her point she returned her attention to more important matters.

"You should land in the digital world within twenty kilometers of the digimon's location.

Painful looks shattered the tamers confidant complexions reducing them to groans and defeated postures.

"I know it's a long way but this is when you decide how badly you want your digimon back."

A brief silence passed over all those present until the normally quiet and reserved Takato stepped forward as if officially taking command of the situation.

"I'd walk a thousand miles if it meant getting Guilmon back."

The others quickly shook off their momentary stat of shaken resolution and stood with him.

The others quickly shook off their momentary state of shaken resolution and stood with him.

Yamaki smiled, satisfied and nodded.

"Then I guess the only thing left to say is good luck."

The Tamers all nodded simultaneously. They knew it was time.

They turned back to their parents and gave them looks and gestures of reassurance then began their march up the stairs with Takato in the lead followed by Henry, Rika, Ryo, Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri.

Wonderful images of being reunited with their digimon-with their friends filled them as they entered the tunnel and crawled towards the bright glowing portal.

They had no idea what would happen on the way but they all knew one thing for certain. they would find their friends, no matter what.


	17. New Surroundings

Tamers West

Chapter 17:

The school day was in its last quarter and the sun was now beyond the apogee and beginning it's decent. The digimon were awakening from their hibernation in the bushes behind the school.

Tech as ever was on his perch in the tree reading a book entitled 'The Burma Road.'

Commandramon lay back against the same tree cradling his rifle in his lap with Black Gatomon curled up in the shade of an adjacent bush.

None of them talked. They had stopped hours ago after running out of material.

Commandramon suddenly bolted upright, Black Gatomon got up on all fours and Tech looked up from his book.

Out of the shadows of the nearby bushes a familiar shape appeared.

Commandramon sighed in relief.

"Don't spook us like that wormy."

"Dokunemon came out into the sunlight his freshly healed skin gleaming slightly in the sunlight.

"My apologies but I wanted to see you all again."

"I'm touched", Commandramon said. His tone was neither rude nor genuine.

"Something on your mind?", Tech asked as he placed his bookmark.

Dokunemon paused for a moment, considering his next words.

"Why are you fighting?"

The three digimon were silent, a little blindsided by the question and each of them altered their gaze as they thought about it."

"Because it's the right thing to do", Black Gatomon answered.

"What makes it right? What makes your cause more correct than that of the others?"

"Our cause doesn't involve hurting innocents", Commandramon answered. "As a professional soldier I can't tolerate that."

Tech nodded in agreement.

"Things don't work here the same way as they do in the digital world. Digimon running amok causing damage and getting people hurt is something we must prevent."

Dokunemon paused considering their words, their resolve.

"So you fight to protect the city?"

Tech nodded.

"This is our home now too. Of course dealing with humans is something that we cannot do. At least for now. It would create... complications."

Dokunemon nodded.

"I understand."

"Why are you asking?", Black Gatomon asked. "Thinking of joining up?"

The others looked at Black Gatomon for a moment then at the worm digimon.

Was he seriously considering it, or was Black Gatomon joking?

"The concern I have is that this seems like a lifetime commitment. Would I forever be trapped here in the real world unable to return home?"

The others said nothing. For them there had been no question, for them there had only been one choice, they had never even considered going home.

"If you could go home would you want to?"

Dokunemon looked up in the tree at Tech.

"This place may not look on our kind very kindly but that's why our tamers impose rules on us, for our safety.

How many times did you walk around the digital world wondering when someone would pop out and attempt to destroy you and take your data?"

Dokunemon didn't need to answer, they all knew what that was like.

"We don't need to worry about that here. True we must be cautious to remain concealed from humans but otherwise we needn't worry constantly about losing our lives to a random attack from an angry digimon with selfish ambitions.

"Although we may lack some freedom here one thing we do have is purpose. After all, what's the point in living if there's no reason for you to live."

Dokunemon had to concede that point.

"I suppose you're right, but I am still unsure."

"You're just stalling."

Dokunemon looked at Commnadramon who looked back with a relaxed yet knowing gaze.

"You've already made you decision, you're just trying to put off your commitment."

Dokunemon cringed visibly, the cyborg digimon's point had been made strait and clear, with no salt added. Just the blunt and bitter truth.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because you made a contract", Black Gatomon answered.

Everyone looked at her, unsure of what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?", Dokunemon demanded.

The feline digimon grinned.

"Simple. When a human and a digimon are partnered up (or to be specific a contract is formed between the two), a digivice appears, least that's what I think, and I've been right so far."

"And what exactly does this contract involve."

She shrugged.

"My guess is that we get their power and they... get a digimon. Look I don't know everything but that's just how I see it."

Commandramon sighed.

"You actually had me going there."

The black cat turned and glared at him.

"And what is your explanation professor?" She yelled angrily.

"Who cares", he replied with a shrug. "I just take life as it comes."

Black Gatomon crossed her arms.

"You're so impulsive", she said crossly.

"At least I can think on my feet instead of just landing on them", he shot back.

Black Gotomon was up on her feet.

"You got something to say to be you box nosed iguana!"

"Who you callin' names you ferreting feline."

Dokunemon looked between the two of them, feeling awkward.

"Don't worry", Technowizardmon told him. "They do this."

Dokunemon sighed and thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?'

Her head spun, her vision was a strange blurring black. She heard people talking, they seemed close, but she couldn't understand them, only strange sounds reached her mind. Where was she? What was happening?

Then a wave of tiredness washed over and darkness claimed her once more.

How long had it been since he had come to this place? Or had he always been here? In the back of his mind he knew he remembered more, but it was as if the memories were locked away.

He had suddenly been there, there was no other way to explain it. As if he had been alive but only became aware of his existence at that moment. Sitting in the shade of the... tree, yes that's what it was called. But now what?

He was alone, no one else in sight. Or was there? Could the tree talk? He didn't think so, but was it impossible?

"_Friends"_

The word seemed to echo from the deepest recesses of his mind.

Yes friends. Friends could talk, and he had friends out there somewhere, he just knew it, and he wasn't going to find them by staying here.

With newfound courage he stood up and began to walk, out of the shade of the tree and into the light.

The light was warm and it gave him a great feeling as he walked along the green grass the... sun, yes sun was casting it's inviting rays upon him. It was like a sign that what he was doing was right. As if he had a guide in this unfamiliar land. It was a great feeling.

Groans were heard as the children slowly sat up in their self-made craters.

"At least we we're more prepared this time", Takato said.

"I think that just made it hurt more", Kenta complained.

"Aw come on Kenta", Kazu groaned. "If we're going to rescue our digimon you can't act like a wuss."

A distant roar sounded and the two suddenly ran together and held each other tightly whimpering and quaking with fear.

"Knock it off you morons!", Rika snapped. "It's not a good Idea to attract attention when were alone in the digital world without our digimon, or did the great dim twins forget that."

"Were not dim, you're cranky", they said together.

"Alright everybody", Henry interrupted trying to get the group back on track. "Let's remember why we're here and not overstay our welcome."

Rika gave Kazu and Kenta one last glare then backed down and walked away wanting to get on with their mission.

Henry took out his PDA and used the stylus to sift through the various menus to the compass.

"According to this it's that way."

Henry pointed towards a large formation of rocks in the distance. It reminded them of the antenna shaped ones from last time they were here.

"And it looks like we've got about twelve miles to walk."

More groans were heard.

"We'll never make it", Kenta whined.

"We can't even do gym class", Kazu complained.

"Well either way were not going to get there by staying here", Ryo said. "So let's go."

He didn't check to see if the others would follow, he just started walking. But they all began to walk after him, headed towards the rocks in the distance.

"Way to take charge Ryo", Rika said. It was hard to tell if there was admiration in that statement or not.

He shrugged.

"After all I've been through in the digital world it comes naturally."

Yes, they had all changed after coming to the digital world. Their destinies changed forever, with the responsibility of protecting not just the people they cared about, but everyone. It was good that they didn't think about that much, it would probably drive them mad.

"Finally over", Xander sighed to himself. The day had just dragged by, possibly to the fretting everyone was doing over Elle's absence.

He practically dragged himself down the hallway out the main doors into the sun which felt suddenly hot.

"What a day", he mumbled to himself.

_"Still concerned about Elle?",_his partner asked.

Xander kept looking and walking straight ahead as he conversed with his partner, trying to look natural.

_"Considering her history there's reason for concern. Either way, there's nothing we can do about it now. At the moment I'm more interested in Dokunemon. Are we both of the opinion that he has a partner now?"_

_"I can't think of any other explanation."_

Xander pondered this.

_"So then who's his partner? Did he mention anything?"_

_"I'm afraid not. He was more concerned with his own personal feelings."_

Xander shrugged.

_"Makes sense. I personally wouldn't wanna' have to fight a bunch of dangerous digimon."_

_"You're human", _Tech countered. _"For digimon, fighting is all we know. It's the only life we know how to live."_

Xander looked at the ground feeling guilty.

_"And that's exactly what we make you do isn't it?"_

Tech sighed inwardly.

_"I've said before Xander. You don't need to feel guilty. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. What else could digimon do?"_

Xander shook his head.

_"I wish I knew."_

The sun was sitting lower in the sky now than it had before. How long would it be before it was gone completely?

How long had he been walking? It had been some time, and he was rather tired.

He came upon a small pond surrounded by tall thin plants, and large round green leaves on the surface of the water.

Curious he approached the pond, brushing against some of the plants on the way to the water's edge where he saw himself for... was it the first time?

The most noticeable thing about his appearance was his colour, red. He had an elongated oval shaped head with a small fin on top. He possessed a nice pair of wings with small claws and a small pair of feet. He spun around and found out that he had a stubby tail as well.

Just what was he?

Suddenly a deep roar blasted through the air interrupting his thoughts and putting him immediately on edge.

He looked above him and saw something flying high over his head. What was it?

With the sun disappearing he felt maybe it was heading somewhere where there was shelter and he decided to follow it.

On the roof of the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg's downtown Stingmon emerged from the shadow cast by the massive air conditioning unit he had been sheltered behind.

From this vantage point on the city's second highest building his view of the city was almost unobstructed.

Humans running around living their petty selfish lives and the fumes of thousands of vehicles tainted the air. It disgusted him to his core.

"You're not thinking about doing something foolish are you?"

Stingmon turned around to face Searchmon who remained concealed in the shadow of the air conditioner caused by the setting sun.

"No", he answered. "Just brooding."

"You can stop", his companion said. "We've been recalled."

"What?" Stingmon was shocked, outraged even. Was it because of his failure? Were they taking too long in their mission? "Why?"

"Uncertain", Searchmon replied.

Stingmon suddenly became aware of how much Searchmon's unwavering matter-of-fact tone irritated him.

"I can't leave yet", Stingmon declared. "Not until I deal with that meddlesome Dokunemon."

"No time", Searchmon told him. "We are needed back now."

"I cannot leave him here unopposed to create a stronger resistance to our comming!"

"We have our orders", Searchmon said firmly breaking his flat tone at last. "You were selected to conduct this mission because you follow orders. Although I have seen less and less of that trait since we arrived here.

"If you stay you will not find redemption, only condemnation."

Stingmon was frustrated, probably more so than any other time in his life. How could he leave with his mission unfinished, and what use could he be back in the digital world.

He relaxed as he finally released his pride and resigned to his better judgment.

"Fine, let's go then."

The two digimon approached the edge of the roof. Below them was an intersection that was packed with cars trying to negotiate through the city's difficult one-way street system.

Wordlessly they leapt into the air and plummeted towards the street below, totally unafraid of the concrete surface rapidly drawing closer to them and just as the light turned green they reached the ground and continued on, leaving no trace except a blur in the memory of those what had bore witness.

Xander trudged into the house with uncharacteristic tiredness and unceremoniously kicked off his shoes.

"Is that you Xander?" His mother called from the kitchen.

"Yeah", he responded. "I'll be right back I'm just gonna' drop my bad off in my room."

"Alright."

Xander walked up the steps slowly. He felt like his socks were made of lead.

'Of course if they were I would probably have lead poisoning after wearing them all day and against my skin' he thought as he practically dragged himself up the stairs.

He entered his room and shrugged off his backpack letting it fall to the floor then he sat down at his computer.

"Why so tired all of a sudden?", Tech asked him.

Xander rubbed his eyes.

"I have no idea. Maybe it's the heat."

He stood up. "Maybe mom's snack will energize me. I'll bring you some."

"Thank you", his partner replied.

Later at the dinner table the family ate but an uncomfortable silence hung over them. As if something needed to be said but no one was saying it.

The news playing on the tv mercifully broke that silence as the top story began.

"Tonight's Top Story is mass homicide. Six men were found dead at nine a.m. this morning at an adult entertainment store in the city's north end. The Homicide Unit was first on the scene and what they've discovered they say is, very disturbing. Miranda Leclerc has more.

The camera cut to a view showing the outside of the store with police tap surrounding it and the reporters voice over began.

"Inside this simple adult entertainment boutique lay the bodies of six men. Police haven't given the identities to the public however they say that at least two of the men have gang ties."

'She forgot to say 'allegedly' Xander mused.

"Officers offered no further comment except that because of gang connections they have to withhold information until the Organized Crime Unit begins their investigation.

The screen then showed the reporter herself standing across the street from the building.

"Since we've been here we've seen several people go in to the building then come out quickly and vomit. This leads us to believe that this murder is particularly gruesome. Hopefully we'll have more for you later.

"Miranda Leclerc; CBC news: Winnipeg."

Amy sighed in annoyance as she watched the newscast from her couch a loose white shirt and shorts while eating out of a bowl of KD on her lap.

Nothing seemed to go on in this city but murders and auto theft, nothing else interesting seemed to happen. The odd occurrences at the parks were sure something but there didn't seem to be any kind of trail to follow. They were a dead end story until something else came up.

'At least this murder seems a bit different.'

Her one bedroom apartment was dark with only the light in the kitchen and the tv providing illumination.

She had no windows in her apartment either and the lighting had not been designed to compensate for the lack of windows, but at least her rent was cheaper because of it.

The main problem was that it seemed to emphasize what she was feeling right now, what she felt most of the time: loneliness.

At work she didn't have that problem because she was either too busy or she had her friends and coworkers there, but at home it was just her.

She didn't go out after work with her friends they were too busy with home life. She used to go out with Natalie often but since her pregnancy that hadn't been possible.

So here she sat, in the dark, alone feeling sorry for herself.

Suddenly her phone rang snapping her out of her dark brooding and away from the newscast.

She muted the TV then picked up the receiver wary of the bowl on her lap.

"Hello?"

There was a strange sound on the other end, as if someone had been crying, or was holding back tears.

"Amy?"

She was surprised.

"Natalie? What-what's wrong?"

Natalie didn't usually have much to cry about and so far her mood swings had been very tame. She was worried about what it might be.

"It's my sister", Natalie choked over the phone. "She's missing."

Suddenly Amy's dinner felt very heavy. Her sister? Elle?

"How? Why?"

"I don't know!", Natalie yelled. She sounded almost hysterical.

Amy learned long ago about Elle's "history", and it was a disturbing one. Stalked since early childhood by various pedophiles and sickos it made her ill. It also made her feel better about being isolated during the first half of her life.

"She left for school but she never showed up and no one's seen her since."

Which meant they had been stalking her for some time, learning her school schedule and the routes she took to and from school. Meaning these guys had done it before.

"Have you called the police?"

"Yes my parents called them a few hours ago. Since they know Elle they've already started looking for her."

That was good. People didn't give police enough credit sometimes. Unfortunately with the crime rates in this city especially lately the police were already stretching what little resources they had. The number of police in the city was not enough for the amount of crime there was, so how would they find the people to do a proper search.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Amy asked her friend.

"Anything you could do would be helpful", Natalie responded. It sounded like the tears were coming back.

"I-I'm going to go be with my parents."

Amy nodded.

"Yeah that's a good idea. I hope she get's found soon."

Natalie sniffled.

"I hope so too. Goodbye."

"Goodbye", Amy responded softly.

She gently put down the phone and stared blankly into her bowl of Kraft Dinner as the weight of what she had just learned finally registered into her perception of reality.

Suddenly, she didn't feel so sorry for herself anymore.

Her head ached and it felt like something was pressing hard against her temples. Nausea dominated her abdomen and threatened the rest of her body.

After much effort she was able to open her eyes. All she saw was a bright light, everything else was blurry.

She heard voices, they sounded close but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Were they talking about her?

She tried to stretch but her nausea was overpowering forcing to stay curled up in a ball. Her whole body felt tired and sore and she was starting to feel hot and dehydrated.

Her eyesight slowly seemed to focus and her hearing seemed to be getting better. She could make out some more obvious words and individual voices but she still couldn't understand what they were saying.

A shadow came over her and gently placed a hand on her cheek. She couldn't tell if it was male or female, much less if it was someone she knew.

She felt someone else gently grab her arm and roll her on her back. The person who had touched her cheek propped her head up and then put something to her lips.

As it was gently tipped towards her she felt liquid wash against her lips. Water? She opened her mouth and sighed in relief as the cool refreshing liquid brought much needed moisture to her arid mouth. She continued to drink until there was none left.

"Feel better?"

A voice, she understood it. A soft caring feminine voice, she sounded young. She looked at the person who spoke but her eyesight was still blurry and she could only make out a silhouette of someone with long hair, a girl. Who was she?

She opened her mouth to speak to this girl but she couldn't make any sounds. Why couldn't she speak? Why was her head still spinning? Where was she?

Tears started uncontrollably pouring out of her eyes. She was scared, she didn't know what to do. Was she trapped here? All her worst nightmare began to play back through her mind. She finally managed to quietly croak out one little word.

"Mommy."

Then the girl gently took her head and placed it on her lap.

"It's okay", she said softly. "It's okay."

The gesture was comforting and served to relax her a little but she was still scared.

Suddenly someone else snuggled up beside her and pulled her into a hug.

This close up she could see colours and she could see that this new girl that was hugging her had long blonde hair and vivid blue eyes.

"What's your name?"

She looked up at the girl who still cradled her head on her lap.

She swallowed and managed to utter a few words.

"My name... is... Elle."

Standing alone on top of a tall stone spire Arbormon surveyed the horizon waiting.

The highest plain of the digital was still as desolate as ever, a stark eat or be eaten arid hell.

'And Windy', he added bracing himself as another gust tore through the area. At least this high up there was little sand being blown around.

The dome-headed digimon resembled an android only made of wood instead of metal. His tall stature and broad shoulders shaped him like a quarter-back and made him and imposing figure.

Two silhouettes appeared high above heading straight for him.

"Right on time."

Stingmon and Searchmon descended from high above after reentering the digital world and headed straight for Arbormon's position and landed in front of him.

"Welcome back home brothers", Arbormon greeted.

"Why were we recalled?", Stingmon demanded. "Our hasty departure left many loose ends."

Arbormon nodded.

"Yes I know I've seen the reports."

"Reports?"

Stingmon glared at Searchmon but the shorter digimon ignored him.

"I also would like to know why we were recalled. Our mission is incomplete."

"It's been superseded by a more important mission."

Stingmon perked up.

"Which would be?..."

Arbormon crossed his arms.

"The data we've been looking for has been located and as the rest of the brotherhood is indisposed you two were chosen to retrieve it."

Stingmon suddenly stood strait and rigid. He was shocked, beyond words. Retrieving the lost data was the most coveted mission in the brotherhood's agenda and he had been asked to accomplish it. It thrilled him, all of his weariness had vanished.

He bowed at Arbormon.

"Forgive me brother, I was insolent. Receiving this mission is a great honor."

"You are forgiven brother", Arbormon replied. "Be aware that this mission is of the greatest importance and failure is not an option."

Stingmon nodded.

"I understand."

Arbormon pointed behind them.

"That way there is a special data stream that is coloured green. Enter it and you will arrive where the data is being kept. Let nothing obstruct you."

Searchmon nodded.

"Then we will go without delay."

"Sovereigns be with you brothers", Arbormon said.

"And with you", Stingmon responded.

The two digimon promptly turned and flew away.

As Arbormon watched them go he sensed another digimon approaching.

The digimon stopped and landed in front of the wooden titan and saluted.

"Thundermon reporting Sir Arbormon."

Thundermn was a small spherical digimon what wore gloves that helped generate his infamous electric charge for his attacks. His small size fast speed and strong attacks made him an ideal scout although like most of his species he was rather impulsive.

"What is it Thundermon", Arbormon asked tiredly. Thundermon tended to report even the most inconsequential things.

"I've found the humans that were reported to have arrived sir."

Arbormon stepped back in shock.

"Really? Where are they?"

Thundermon pointed back the way he came.

"That way, about two hours walk."

Arbormon looked in the direction Thundermon was pointing but of course it was too far to see.

He recomposed himself and adopted an authoritative stance.

"Very well done Thundermon. I shall relay your report to the others. In the meantime watch them and remain hidden. Your are to take no action against them until you have been instructed otherwise."

Thundermon saluted.

"Yes Sir Arbormon Sir!"

With renewed enthusiasm the small digimon turned on his heel and flew away at top speed out towards a cluster of spires in the distance. From where Arbormon stood they resembled city skyscrapers.

"So the human's have come back for their digimon after all."

The wooden digimon rubbed his hands and chuckled.

"This is the opportunity we've been waiting for. I can't wait to tell the others. Let us see what we will do with them."

* * *

**The next chapter is up at last after an unfortunate Hiatus as the result of a car accident but I'm back now, sorry it took so long. I hope it's worth the wait.**

**So more is explained and more is questioned. What will come from this? Wait till the next chapter to find out. Hopefully that one won't take as long.**


	18. Reunification

Tamers West

Chapter 18: Reunification

Xander was double checking his school bag making sure he had everything he needed before he left for school.

"You seem edgy today." His partner commented. "You're usually only like this if we're about to fight."

The boy grunted.

"At this point Tech I'm almost hoping for one."

Tech could feel a deep rooted anger maybe even hate as he said those words. He wondered what was wrong.

As Xander zipped up his backpack his mother called him down for breakfast.

"Coming", he called back.

He looped his backpack over his shoulder.

"I'll save ya' some breakfast." he said as he left.

As Xander closed the door behind him Tech sat down on the bed wondering what had come over his tamer?

Xander dropped off his bag near the front door and then sat down at the table for a breakfast of homemade waffles.

"Good morning sweetie", his mother greeted him. "Sleep well?"

"No", he replied flatly.

Maria sighed.

"I suppose you already know."

He nodded.

"Yeah, the topic on the phone call was abundantly clear."

She sighed again.

"I'm sorry honey. I was going to tell you but I thought I would at least try and give you a good night's sleep before hand."

Now it was his turn to sigh.

"I appreciate it mom but you know it's futile to hide things like that from me."

He quickly finished off his waffles and headed towards the door.

"Now Xander don't do anything foolish.", his mother pleaded. "I know you want to help but it's dangerous."

Xander noted that his mother's attention was all on him and sent a telepathic message to Tech.

"Mom I can't just sit around and do nothing when one of my best friends has been kidnapped!"

Tech teleported at the table behind Maria and silently grabbed a pair of waffles from the table while also listening to the mother and son conversation.

'Kidnapped? So that's what was bothering him.'

"You should just leave this to the police", Maria said insistently. "I don't want something to happen to you too."

There were tears in her eyes now.

Xander sighed and gave her a hug to try and calm her down.

She returned the hug, wrapping her arms around her beloved offspring and tears started flowing. She felt like her son was going off to war.

"Please be careful", she said. She knew trying to stop him was pointless.

"Don't worry mom. I'll just keep my nose to the ground. I won't stick it anywhere."

Tech vanished from the kitchen and Xander went out the door.

As he walked away from the house Maria couldn't help but sigh and think that he was so much like his father.

Tech teleported to the roof and as we munched on his waffles he thought about what he had witnessed between Xander and his mother.

Parents in general were an alien concept for him so a mother's love and concern for her child seemed beyond his understanding.

Considering her reaction to Xander's simple desire to investigate his friend's disappearance was it any wonder he kept the secret of being a tamer so seriously.

"You coming?", Xander asked through their link.

Tech took his last bite of waffle ten teleported to the next spot along their route.

Jeff and Commandramon had left early from home and were now scouring a familiar alley for clues towards Elle's disappearance.

"She always takes this shortcut", Jeff said out loud. "There's got to be something around here."

"Don't worry", his cyborg partner told him. "If there are any clues here we'll find them."

"Hey we found something."

Jeff looked up at mike who was crouched near a tall stack of pallets. He and Dokunemon had shown up almost at the same time. They didn't need to ask why, they both knew why they were there.

Jeff walked over beside Mike and saw Dokunemon pull something out from behind the pallets.

"That's Elle's bag!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Which means that around here is where she was kidnapped! She'd never leave her bag behind she'd have come back for it."

Commandramon and Dokunemon suddenly stiffened.

"What is it?" Mike asked.

"It's just us."

The four looked out towards the street and saw Xander and Tech walking towards them.

"I see we all had the same idea", he said. "And I see you've found her bag."

"Dokunemon found it behind the pallets", Mike told him.

Xander took the bag and examined it.

"One of the straps is broken. It must've happened while she was going over the fence.

Mike nodded and turned his head towards the tall wooden barrier. Elle would have had to climb the pallets to clear it.

Handing the bag to Jeff Xander climbed up the pallets and looked down at the otherside.

There didn't appear to be anything abnormal. No tire marks no footprints no...

Squinting Xander saw something brightly colored in the garbage in the corner of the alley. He jumped down and went over to examine it.

It looked like a pellet. It was orange in colour about two centimeters in diameter and five millimeters thick.

"What's that?", Mike asked. "One of those hockey puck candies?"

Xander shook his head and took out an empty ziplock bag from his backpack.

"More likely narcotics. This might be our clue."

"Yeah cause hardly anybody in this city does drugs", Jeff said sarcastically.

"It's a start", Xander defended. "And it's all we got."

With the pellet now in the plastic bag Xander handed it to Tech.

"Hold on to this for me. If one of us gets caught with it we'll be in real trouble."

Jeff handed Elle's bag to Commandramon.

"We need you to hold on to this too."

"We'll see you guys after school", Mike said as he led the other two boys out of the alley and towards the school.

The three digimon stood in silence.

"So I guess we just wait at the usual spot?" Commandramon asked.

"I suppose", Tech answered.

"By the way do either of you know what narcotics are?" Dokunemon asked.

Tech was a little stumped. He wasn't entirely sure himself.

"I'm not entirely sure but maybe we can ask our tamers when they come back."

"He's not my tamer", Dokunemon insisted.

"Keep telling yourself that", Commandramon said with a smirk.

"How much further? I can barely stand up.", Kenta whined.

"Five kilometers", Henry said trying to control the irritation creeping into his voice. Not that he was alone in that. Kazu and Kenta's whining was getting on everyone's nerves.

"Has anyone noticed that there seems to be more rocks than before?", Kazu asked.

"What's that got to do with anything?", Rika snapped!

"Hey whoa your highness I was just trying to pass the time, sheesh."

Rika scowled but said nothing else, she merely turned her head away. Her nerves were frayed like a bad extension cord. She just wanted to get her partner back and get things back to the way they were before. She didn't want to have to endure the drolling of the two dolts walking with them.

"Makes sense that the digimon would come this way though", Ryo said. "With all these rocks it'd be easier to hide."

"Th-that's what I was getting at", Kazu boasted.

Rika rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right", Kenta said.

Takato sighed. Those two were always like this. He looked over to his right at Jeri.

She had been silent the whole time. As she walked along she just stared at the ground, her head raised just enough to allow her to see where she was going. She looked depressed, out of place, maybe even sad.

"Jeri, are you okay?"

Jeri looked up at him and forced a smile.

"I'm fine Takato, don't mind me."

Not far away Arbormon and Thunderballmon stood on top of a tall rock spire that overlooked the surrounding area, including the intrepid tamers.

"Look there they are!", Thunderballmon said excitedly. "We should kill them now while they are without their digimon. I wonder what would happen if you tried to upload a humans' data."

Arbormon crossed his arms and chuckled.

"A nice idea thunderballmon, but I have a better one."

Thundermon looked up at the wooden digimon puzzled.

"What?"

"They are looking for their digimon and they seem to know where they're going. I say we follow them, and when they find their digimon we eliminate them all in one fell swoop."

Thundermon pumped his fists excitedly.

"I like that idea."

"Good cause if it works than our biggest problem will be gone."

At the Hypnos towers it was surprisingly calm in spite of the recent increase in activity. People were still working diligently but there was an office like calm.

Yamaki however was anything but calm. The children were all alone in a very hostile environment and he was responsible for getting them all back alive. No pressure right?

"How far are the children from the digimon?"

"About five kilometers", Riley answered. "They're making good progress."

"Shows how determined they are", Yamaki commented. He looked down to the chambers main floor where Suzie was looking up at the view screen an anxiously holding the digivice tightly in her hands.

Originally they were going to just leave the digivice here and let Suzie go home but the device refused to work unless she was in close proximity.

He theorized that like the digimon the digivice also drew power from the tamers.

A small beeping resounded through the quiet room that got everyones attention.

"What is it?", Yamaki demanded.

"An anomaly has appeared", Taley answered. "It's in the juggernaut system."

Yamaki looked up in a alarm.

"That's impossible, we sealed Juggernaut."

The worrying beep suddenly evolved into a blaring klaxon sending everyone into a near panic.

"Isolate it!", Yamaki yelled.

"Too late the core's been breached!"

An explosion shook the room knocking some people off their feet and Suzie screamed and covered her head.

"What's happening."

Yamaki heard more screams and shouts from the other end of the room and as the smoke started to clear he saw violet flashes.

"What's going on over there?", he called out.

Suddenly something big crashed onto the floor right in front of him knocking him off his feet. Before he could make out what it was it jumped over him and down onto the other side of the room.

Scrambling to his feet Yamaki leaned over the platforms railing to see what it was.

It resembled a large mechanical cricket with a radar disk mounted on its back. It appeared to be absorbing data from the computer.

More shouts were heard from the other side of the room where the blast had originated.

Yamaki ran to the opposite railing and saw a tall bipedal insectoid with a violet energy blade. Everyone was running for either the elevator or the stairs.

He then remembered the enormous cricket.

"Shut down the system", he shouted up at his adjutents.

"We're trying but the computers not responding to any commands", Tally responded in a panic.

At that moment another scream was heard above the rest.

Alarmed Yamaki looked back down over the railing and saw the tall insect digimon standing over Suzie with its energy blade raised to strike.

Suzie stood with her digivice raised as though it were a shield.

Almost without thinking Yamaki climbed onto the railing and jumped off hoping he wasn't too late.

The digimon struck with his blade just before Yamaki tackled him to the ground and he tumbled across the floor.

"Stingmon I have it!", a voice proclaimed. "We must go now!"

The giant cricket leapt from its place by the computer terminal and towards the gaping hole in the juggernaut core.

From his place sprawled on the floor Yamaki locked eyes with the tall armored digimon who glared back at him as if making a vow to kill him the next time they met.

Just as Yamaki got to his feet Stingmon followed Searchmon through the hole in the juggernaut core.

Worriedly Yamaki looked over where Suzie had been standing and saw a large gap in the floor and Susie was standing off to the side of it completely unharmed.

'How?', he wondered. The digimon's strike had been so quick even he wouldn't have been able to dodge it.

He ran over to her and grabbed the young girls shoulders.

"Suzie are you okay?"

Her eyes looked blank and distant, she seemed completely unresponsive.

One of the technicians came over.

"I'll take care of her sir."

Although Yamaki had assumed personal responsability for Suzie's safety while she was here he was responsible for everyone else as well.

"All right take her to the infirmary and keep her there for now. I'll take care of things here."

The tech nodded and gently guided Suzie towards the elevator.

Yamaki surveyed the damage.

The juggernaut core that dominated the room had a large hole in it and the floor in front of the hole was strewn with soot and chunks of metal.

He sighed heavily. This was one hell of a mess.

"Tally, Riley, try to find out what they were after. Things are heating up again."

It was the school lunch break and everyone was gathered in the usually place under the trees.

"Why would someone kidnap Elle?", Richard asked aghast.

"Sexual exploitation", Xander answered frankly. "We've encountered these types of people before, they've been after Elle for years."

Skye gripped the hem of her shirt tightly.

"You don't think they'd..."

"No", he answered. "In that particular marked innocence and purity is what sells so they'll keep her healthy and chastity will be strictly enforced. Or so we hope."

Alice stared deep into her cup of tea from her thermos, the reality of Elle's disappearance finally sinking in.

"I guess all we can do is hope the police can find her."

Jeff snorted.

"With all the gang violence going on right now do you really think they'll be able to spare the resources to do a proper search for her?"

Alice was silent as Jeff stared hard at her. His eyes were filled with barely contained fury; not at her though, the whole situation.

She herself partly understood that feeling. The feeling that something threatened those you cared about, the things you held dear, and you were powerless to do anything about it. That's how she felt when the D-Reaper attacked. That was how she felt as Dobermon vanished before her eyes.

"Jeff's right", Mike added. "Everyone expects the cops to do everything well they can't. Sometimes people have to do things themselves instead of other people all the time."

Alice, Hanse, Richard and Skye stared at him. This was a side of Mike they had never seen before.

Apparently even the joker of the group could be serious when need be.

"What are you going to do then?" Hanse asked.

"Simple", Xander replied. "We'll start our own investigation and find her ourselves."

"Are you crazy?", Richard asked him. "No one's going to take a bunch of kids seriously and besides that the people who kidnapped Elle are bound to be dangerous. What if you run into them?"

Mike shrugged.

"We'll wing it. No point in worrying about it now, but doing nothing is not an option."

Ciel nodded.

"The hand will not go on as long as its missing a finger. And then it will clamp down on the throat of the one who took it."

The boys nodded in agreement.

The other's looked at the four strangely and Alice felt a strange sensation in her gut. A feeling of dread. They were going deep into trouble.

"I suppose if you think about it you couldn't call yourselves Elle's best friends if you didn't do everything you could.", Hanse said sagely.

Everyone stared at the normally quiet member of their group.

"Damn strait", Jeff proclaimed breaking the silence.

Richard sighed.

"Well I guess there's no stopping you."

Skye shrugged.

"Well I don't know what I can do but if you need anything call me."

"I'll help too", Alice added. She didn't want to sit on the sidelines again.

Ciel smiled

"We'll be sure to call you when we need you."

Mike grinned.

"Those slime balls don't stand a chance."

Elle groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She had a pounding headache and nausea still plagued her abdominal area.

"Are you awake?", a voice asked gently.

Elle managed to slowly turn her head and look up into a pair of beautiful amber eyes.

"Good morning Elle. Feeling better?"

Elle blinked her eyes to clear her vision and better see the face of who was speaking to her but her vision remained hazy.

"Who are you?", she asked.

"My name's Amber", the young feminine voice replied. "I'm looking after you until you feel better."

Elle swallowed.

"Where am I?"

Amber patted her head.

"Don't worry, you're safe."

Elle didn't think that was a particularly good answer. Why couldn't she be told where she was?

"You must be hungry, your tummy's been growling almost since you got here."

With a warm and gentle hand Amber propped up Elle's head and put a spoon to her lips.

"Eat some of this first. Now open up."

Nervously Elle slowly opened her mouth and felt the spoon enter and deposit it's cargo.

Whatever Amber was feeding her had the texture of toothpaste and tasted like cream. 'Edible', she decided and swallowed.

Amber continued to feed her the strange paste for a while and as she did Elle felt her sense of taste beginning to dull.

"Now for your actual meal", Amber announced.

Elle was puzzled. If that paste wasn't her meal than what could it be.

There was a rustling of plastic bags and then Amber stuffed something into Elle's mouth causing her to gag.

"Chew, chew", Amber urged.

Reluctantly Elle chewed and tried to figure out what it was in her mouth.

She couldn't really taste it but when her mind tried to figure out what it was it kept coming up with grass. Why? She had never eaten grass before.

"What is this stuff", she asked after she swallowed her first mouthful.

"Some kind of plant", Amber replied with what seemed like her first strait answer. "But don't worry it's really healthy."

Elle sighed. Where was she? What was she going to do?

Tired and exhausted but not completely worn he continued to walk. How long had it been? The sun had already set and risen since he had begun and now it was once again almost beneath the curve of the land before him.

The flying machines had gotten much closer to the ground so that now they were only a few meters above his head when they flew over.

The scenery suddenly changed as the tall grass suddenly stopped and gave way to a vast open space as far as he could se.

Another flying machine flew over him and landed on a hard rock like surface just ahead of him. The surface was painted with white lines and it had white lights running parallel along it's length.

Ahead he saw the flying machine turn off the path and head for a group of buildings.

Having followed them thus far he chased after it until it pulled up beside a bright blue building with massive doors and a cavernous interior.

At this point he was almost completely spent having almost no strength left.

Suddenly the side of the machine opened up and two people stepped out.

Instinctively he ducked inside the building. For now in his present state he didn't think making contact with anybody was a good idea.

'Maybe I should just stay here and rest.'

he slipped behind a large crate and sat down. Quickly afterwards darkness overcame his conscious mind and he fell asleep.

"Almost there", Takato announced happily as the tamers neared their destination.

"Finally", Kenta said relieved.

"Almost home free", Kazu cheered.

Rika drifted beside Henry who's eyes were focused on the PDA he held in his hands.

They had lost the signal from HYPNOS a while ago and Henry had been trying ever since to contact them.

"Any luck", she asked him.

He sighed.

"No. Whatever the problem is it's on their end."

Rika frowned

"I hope that doesn't mean something really bad happened."

"Hopefully it's just a technical problem", Henry said finally pocketing the device.

"Good thing our D-Arcs were able to pick up our digimon otherwise we would've been in trouble."

"Speaking of I don't suppose you know how were getting back?" Rika asked him.

"Same way we got in", he told her. "They're gonna' bring us back through the portal."

Rika stared at him questioningly.

"And when were you told this?"

Henry raised an eyebrow at her.

"It was on the info sheet they gave us the night before we left. All our families got one."

Flabbergasted Rika turned her head away.

"Yeah well I had more important things on my mind than reading a glorified brochure."

Henry sighed. Rika was a good fighter but she tended to overlook the details.

"Look."

Henry snapped to and looked where Takato was pointing.

It looked like a small gave but the opening was blocked by a large pile of rocks in the entrance.

"The compass says they're in there", Takato said. "Does that pile of rocks have them trapped?"

"Don't be ridiculous gogglehead", Rika said sharply. "Our digimon couldn't be trapped just by a bunch of rocks."

"But what if they're underneath the rocks?", Kazu said worriedly.

"Oh no they'll be crushed!", Kenta wailed.

"Relax guys", Ryo said calmly. "They're inside and they're perfectly fine."

Henry examined the compass on his own device and was relieved to see that Terriermon was also in the cave. He then switched modes and began actively scanning for threats.

"What are you doing Henry?" Takato asked.

"Making sure it's not a trap", he responded.

"A trap?", Kazu and Kenta asked in panicky tones.

Henry's digivice showed nothing but he still looked concerned.

"Well I guess we can't just sit here", he said in resignation.

"Damn right!", Rika shouted. "Let's hurry up and get'em before something happens."

Not waiting for the others Rika marched up to the wall of stones and began tearing it down.

Takato quickly followed her lead and the others came right after him.

As Takato dislodged one of the larger stones something flew out scaring him and causing him to fall on his back.

"You okay Takato?", Henry asked.

Takato grunted.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Marineangemon!", Kenta shouted. "You're here!"

The tiny Mega digimon floated down and the two hugged.

"Oh Marineangemon I missed you so much."

Kazu groaned.

"Aw come on Kenta don't start getting mushy on us."

"Kazu is that you?", a voice asked from inside the cave.

"Guardramon is that you?", Kazu asked excitedly!

Rika rolled her eyes. Of course it was him.

"Stand back", Guardramon warned. "I'll take down the wall."

Everyone on the wall jumped off and moved a safe distance away to avoid getting hit by flying rocks.

Gruardramon brought back his fish and punched the wall sending it crashing down strewing stones all over the ground.

"Come inside quickly, before you're seen."

Not needing any more encouragement the tamers swiftly ducked inside the cave and after a quick look around Guardramon led them deeper inside.

From their position on a stone spire nearby Arbormon and Thunderballmon watched.

Arbormon chuckled evily.

"Too late tin man."

"You da'mon Guardramon", Kazu praised as he pounded fists with his partner.

The others continued down the tunnel with Rika leading at a fast pace.

The tunnel finally opened up into the larger chamber where the other digimon rested.

Takato, Rika and Henry froze in shock when they sow the state of their digimon.

Gummymon, Viximon and Gigimon were badly roughed up and barely conscious.

"Oh my gosh!"

Jerry's shout drew everyone's attention and they followed her gaze to Impmon as Lopmon tried to heal him with a packet of old data.

"What happened?", Henry asked breathlessly.

"We were viscously attacked.", Guardramon answered. "A terrifying Phantomon attacked us while we were taking shelter amongst some rocks. She first attacked Renamon from behind then attacked the rest of us."

"An unprovoked attack", Henry said through gritted teeth. "Why would someone do that?"

The synopsis behind his eyes lit up as he realized something.

"You said Renamon? Does that mean they were rookies before?"

Guardramon nodded solemnly.

"Yes they were attacked so violently that they reverted back to their in-training forms."

All the tamers were shocked but of course Takato Henry and Rika were hit the hardest from the revelation. They just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, feeling helpless even guilty.

Takato was the first to move. he knelt down beside Gigimon and gently picked him up.

"Takato?", Gigimon asked tiredly.

Takato smiled but his heart was in ruins seeing his friend like this.

"Hey buddy. I promised we'd see each other again."

Gigimon smiled.

"Yeah."

Henry went over to Gummymon.

"How are you feeling?"

Gummimon grinned weakly.

"Momentai Henry. I feel a lot better than I look. I can take more than that old rag bag can ever dish out", he boasted proudly.

Henry managed to smiled.

"Yeah, you sure can."

Finally Rika went over to Viximon.

"Rika? Is it really you?", she asked weakly.

Rika tenderly picked up the wounded digimon and held her against her chest.

"Of course it's me. You don't think I'd leave my partner hanging do you?"

Viximon sighed peacefully then responded:

"Never."

Jeri awkwardly walked over to Impmon and Lopmon.

"Um Suzie, Ai and Mako weren't able to come so they sent me instead."

The two digimon actually looked relieved. Jeri had expected disappointment.

"Are you okay?", she asked Impmon.

Impmon was surprised by Jeri's query towards his well being. He still felt too much guilt to look her in the eye though. His past transgressions still haunted him.

"Yeah I'm fine", he said looking away.

"Hey not to interrupt or anything", Ryo began as he addressed the group. "But is Calumon with you guys?"

Alarmed the digimon looked around but the tiny white digimon was nowhere to be seen.

"Help!", a voice yelled from outside the cave. "Help!"

"That's Calumon!", Rika shouted.

Instantly everyone got to their feet and ran outside(the In-Trainings being carried by their respective tamers) towards the source of the distressed shout.

It was indeed Calumon but he was trapped in the wooden grip of a tall broad shouldered digimon.

Arbormon chuckled evily.

"Well I guess the final dance is about to start."


	19. Being Naughty

Tamers West

Chapter 19: Being Naughty

"I hope you've said your prayers", Arbormon said menacingly as he approached. "Cause whatever you worship you're gonna meet real soon."

"You're awfully cocky for someone who's outnumbered", Ryo said.

Guardramon put himself between everyone and the two attackers.

"Do yourself a favor and leave before you get hurt."

"No who's being cocky", Arbormon countered.

Ryo turned to Monodramon.

"You think you can digivolve?"

Monodramon looked at him with absolute confidence.

"You bet."

**Monodramon Matrix digivolve to-**

** Blockade Seed**

Monodramon aborted his digivolution just in time to avoid the attack.

"None of that", Arbormon said smugly.

**Guardian Barrage**

Guardramon counterattacked but Arbormon didn't even flinch. Instead Thunderballmon intercepted the missiles with bolts of electricity shooting them down.

Ryo took out his card deck.

**Digimodify: Augumon Activate!**

Monodramon went on the attack targeting the large wooden Arbormon.

**Pepper Fire**

Once again Arbormon didn't try to dodge. Instead he crossed his arms and blocked the incoming fireball.

Before he could counterattack Guardramon launched his own.

**Guardian Barrage**

Once again Thunderballmon intercepted the attack creating a web of electricity that destroyed the incoming missiles.

**Thunderball**

A powerful ball of electricity slammed into Monodramon knocking him on his side.

As Thunderballmon passed him a hair of pink hearts slammed into his small body stunning him.

Lopmon seized the opportunity and attacked.

**Blazing Ice**

Thunderballmon fell to the ground as he got hit by the freezing attack.

As Lopmon dropped back down from her attack a flying fist slammed into her midsection sending her flying into a nearby boulder.

Marine Angemon went to assist only to be knocked aside by a recovered Thunderballmon.

Takato, Rika, Henry and Jeri watched helplessly, feeling useless. Unfortunately none of their digimon were in any condition to do anything. They were really on the ropes now.

Guardramon charged at Arbormon with his fist primed to strike.

Arbormon skillfully deflected the punch, grabbed his arm and flipped Guardramon on his back.

"Looks like you're gonna be first to go Tin Man".

"Not yet", he replied defiantly.

He ignited his rockets and crashed into Arbormon's legs toppling the wooden brute. He arched up off the ground and fired a pair of missiles into Arbormon's back.

The missiles slammed hard into him eliciting a yelp of pain.

He managed to stand back to his feet and looked for his companion.

Thunderballmon was fairing little better as Marine Angemon and Lopmon ganged up on him. Wait! Where was Monodramon?

**Desolation Claw**

Arbormon was knocked flat on his back from the powerful strike.

There was another shout and Thunderballmon crahsed beside him.

Arbormon got back to his feet and saw Cyberdramon standing point in front of the others.

Arbormon grunted.

"We have to retreat."

Thunderballmon floated up beside him.

"Come on we can still win."

"No we have to go now!"

Arbormon took aim at Cyberdramon.

**Blockade Seed**

Just before he Cyberdramon dodged the attack the projectile exploded with a bright flash and blast of thick smoke blinding them.

"Where are they?" Kenta coughed.

The braced themselves for a sneak attack but none came. When the smoke cleared they saw that the two attackers had vanished.

"Where'd they go", Kazu wondered.

"Probably to get reinforcements", Ryo said. "We should go before they comeback."

"Sounds good to me", Takato agreed. "But where do we go? Back the way they came?"

Kazu and Kenta groaned.

"Not more walking."

"Quiet you", Rika hissed.

Kazu and Kenta cowered.

"Hey guys I got back online with Hypnos!"

Everyone looked at Henry.

"Really!"

He nodded.

Yeah and they've given us directions to get home. We have to go south to a data point."

"What's a data point?" Takato asked.

"I've seen them before", Ryo told them. "It's a place where someone from the real world can directly access the digital world itself."

"I'll send them a reply to let them know we got the message." Henry said.

"Let's get walking", Ryo told them. "We don't want to still be here when those two come back with their friends."

He brought out his D-Arc and activated the compass.

"South is that way", he pointed.

"Than let's get going", Rika said impatiently. "I want to get home."

"Sounds good to me", Takato agreed.

Thus the tamers began the next leg of their journey happy to be reunited with their digimon at last.

As they walked Ryo drifted beside Henry.

"Don't spread this around", he said. "But when I first go to the digital world I tried getting home through one of those data points and it didn't work."

Henry frowned.

"Well maybe they found a way to use it. Maybe it actually needs someone from the real world for it to work."

Ryo sighed.

"I hope so."

From the ravaged Hypnos control room Yamaki watched the icon that represented the tamers on the screen start to move south. Janyu Wong stood behind him.

"At least something good came from this", he said referring to the terrible mes. By tracing back to their point of entry we found that data point."

The mentioning of the intruders made Yamaki bristle.

"Any more information as to how they got in?"

Janyu frowned.

"Well it's only a theory but we think that the data point was created and used by the D-Reaper to invade Hypnos when it appeared in the real world back then. It's possible that when D-Reaper left it made a hole or pathway in the network and those digimon were able to exploit that. It's just the kind of thing Dolphin warned us about."

Yamaki pushed up his glasses.

"The worrying thing about that theory is that it implies they know where all these D-Reaper back doors and shortcuts are."

Janyus's brows furrowed deeply.

"Yeah that's right."

Yamaki sighed.

"How's Suzie?"

"Oh she's a little shaken but she'll be fine. It's a sign that we might have ended up waiting too long to get the digimon back."

"Well we're in the process now", Yamaki said. "Let's just hope we aren't too late."

Elle's eyes slowly opened, only having to adjust slightly to the dimly lit room. Her head still ached and her eyesight was still blurry but at least she could see. Her stomach was also a little bit upset.

"Are you awake?"

Elle turned her head to see Amber sitting beside her smiling.

"I guess you're still not used to it. It does take a while."

Elle groaned and tried to sit up but it made her head spin so she laid back down.

"And what exactly is this thing I'm supposed to get used to?"

Amber shrugged.

"Some stuff that they keep under the floor."

Elle frowned. If whatever was under the floor was causing her illness than it was most likely some kind of drug.

Elle forced herself to sit up tossing aside the discomfort.

"You really should lie down", Amber said as she supported her.

Elle grunted.

"I can't. I have to get out of here."

Amber gently pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, don't be scared. We're all here for you."

Amber's hug was warm and gentle. She seemed like a genuinely caring soul but every instinct in Elle's body told her to try and escape.

Suddenly the door opened and three figures came in and stood in the centre of the dimly lit room.

Elle's vision was still poor so she could only make out a trio of white blobs.

One of the figures pointed at a girl curled up on the opposite wall.

Wordlessly the girl stood to her feet and followed the blobs out of the room.

Elle saw her more clearly as she walked by.

She looked so young, no more than six of seven. It broke her heart to hear the girl whimpering as she left the room.

Her maternal instincts wanted to hold her, comfort and protect her. Right now though she couldn't do anything, she could barely even sit up. Elle started to cry.

"Don't worry they won't hurt her. I can promise you that."

Elle's disposition soured and she silently vowed that she would escape this place and free every girl here. She also vowed that the one responsible for this would pay dearly.

"Going home?"

Ciel and her parents were seated at the table having a rare family dinner when her mother broke the news that their maid Megan had to go back to France for family reasons.

"What happened?" she asked her mother!

She shrugged.

"I don't know the details but many of her family members are sick so she's going back to take care of them."

Ciel was sad. She and Megan were friends, she was like an aunt to her. She didn't want to part ways like this.

Her father Gilles spoke next.

"So I suppose we're going to have to get another maid then." Someone had to say it.

"Charles said he has an eager young lady who will be able to work full time."

"How young?", Gilles asked with a frown.

"Ciel's age."

Ciel watched as her father's gaze fell on her and then swiveled back to her mother.

"That's very young to be a maid in a foreign country Louise."

Ciel eyed her mother as she readied her response. She most likely was already set on bringing that girl over since she already knew so much about her and was the first and thus far only candidate she had mentioned. She only needed her father's approval to bring her over.

"Apparently she'd already finished school and speaks English very well so I don't think you have to worry. Besides from what Charles tells me she's very eager to come here."

Gilles took a sip of wine.

"And why is that."

Louise shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe she's excited at the chance to come to another country. Anyway don't worry you've always left hiring the maid to me before. What's wrong this time?"

Gilles crossed his arms.

"Someone so young. It just doesn't feel right."

Julie sighed.

"Don't worry I promise everything will be fine."

Gilles sighed.

"Fine fine, do what you want just please handle it carefully."

"My family has always chosen it's maids very carefully."

Gilles said nothing and went back to his dinner.

Even though Ciel was fairly neutral on the matter she had to agree with her father's feelings. Having a maid that was a young as his own daughter would seem awkward, strange.

"By the way Ciel I hope you've been practicing for the upcoming recital."

Ciel frowned.

"Well um, it's just that with Elle missing-

"Elle wouldn't want you to miss out on the recital because of her. Especially after you've been practicing for so long."

"But I'm always practicing anyway."

"You can't be complacent. You always have to practice or else someone will get ahead and you won't get first place again. You have your position and status to uphold."

Ciel's stomach tightened with disgust. How could she even talk about position and status when her friend was missing and who know what was happening to her.

"Yes mama."

Ciel felt disheartened and rather disgusted with herself. Had nothing changed at all? Was she just going to slip back to the way she was before?

'You have to talk to them', Black Gatomon told her telepathically.

Ciel looked at her parents having returned to the maid issue.

'I don't think now's the best time'.

'You can't put it off forever.'

Ciel sighed inwardly.

'I know, I know.'

Late at night in downtown Winnipeg a bus pulled to a stop among many old warehouses and shops. The old faded brick buildings that once housed the city's most abundant source of commerce now served as a haven for the city's less desirable population with their boarded up and broken windows and doors giving the neighborhood a spooky appearance.

The bus opened it's doors and several people got off including Xander and Tech.

As the bus pulled away the two walked down a walkway between the warehouses.

"I'm still shocked", Tech said out loud. "No one even noticed me."

'That's the beauty of the late night bus', Xander said. 'Just please remember to use telepathy, we don't want to attract attention in this part of town.'

'Right sorry.'

After passing between the warehouses and turned left up the street.

'So where is this information you we're going to find?'

Xander gestured ahead with his chin

'Right there.'

Xander was gesturing to an old brick building much like the others. It apparently used to be a grocery store.

Xander led him around the back of the building where there was a rusted iron door.

'You stay out here and look out for anyone weird or aggressive looking. I'm going inside.'

Tech frowned.

'This seems dangerous.'

'It is; but it's where I can find information about this.'

He held up the orange pellet they had found earlier. Despite google searches turning up little of value Xander stubbornly held on to the belief that it was a narcotic.

'These are the lengths you go to for a friend Tech. I'd do the same for you.'

Tech nodded.

'I know you would. Just be careful.'

Tech teleported to the roof of the building and Xander approached the door. They would maintain telepathic contact at all times.

Xander grabbed the iron door knocker and knocked the iron door twice. Despite his strong knocks they noise wasn't particularly loud against the thick metal.

The door opened though and a large muscular man in his mid thirties stood in the doorway. Or rather he filled it.

Tech instinctively gripped his staff tightly ready to come to his tamers air, but he sensed no anxiety from Xander.

"Hi Dave", he greeted.

"Zander! The patron saint of the streets has come to grace us with his presence eh?"

Tech was thoroughly puzzled. Patron saint? Xander hadn't mentioned anything like this. It was obvious that he had been here before and the people knew him.

"Come on in. Everyone'll want to see you."

The thick iron door closed as Xander followed Dave into the building leaving Tech to spectate through their link and hope everything would work out fine.

Xander let Dave lead him inside and close the door. Beside the door was Dave's chair and surveillance camera monitor showing the view of the door from the camera's hidden place outside. Tucked underneath the chair was Dave's sawed-off shotgun. The notches in the barrel making it clear that the weapon was not just for show.

The sounds of people in the next room were very audible even from the door. They rounded the corner and Xander was forced to shield his eyes from the intense illumination.

The room was lit with saloon style wall lamps and lights built into the ceiling fans. The furnishings were a very heterogeneous mix of old restaurant booths, a converted pool table, even one of the one set table and chairs from Mc Donald's.

On one wall furthest from the entrance was a full bar where people were buying drinks whilst everyone else milled about tanking with each other in their selective groups.

"Hey everybody look who's here."

Most of the patrons looked up from their conversations and cheered when they saw Xander.

"Cheer all you want I'm still not lending you any money", Xander said.

They laughed and then returned to their conversations. The abrupt switch in focus would seem strange to some but it was normal here.

"You wanna' drink Zander?", the bartender asked.

"No thanks Gary."

Xander surveyed the room.

To the casual observer most wouldn't think they looked any different than what one would see in a school cafeteria except for the fact that the ages went from fourteen to thirty. Someone more street smart however would notice that the groups all consisted of people wearing something the same colour. The indentifying colour of their gang.

This establishment known simply as "The Den." It allowed anyone in as a patron as long as they behaved themselves while they were there and most of the locals had gang ties. Obviously it was an illegal operation freely allowing members of gangs to hang out and serving alcoholic beverages to underage patrons.

Xander finally spotted who he was looking for at a booth in the far corner. There was less activity further away from the bar.

He checked behind him to make sure that Dave had gone back to his post and then made his way over.

The people at the booth raised their beers in greeting. The one Xander was most eager to talk to sat in the middle of the booths curved seat.

Flash was just shy of seventeen year old. His family had immigrated to Winnipeg from the Philippines when he was two. Xander didn't know the details of how he ended up in the gangs but everyone had their stories.

Holding on his right arm was his main squeeze Milly, also Philipino except she had been born here. She wore her usually tight black shirt and jeans. She greeted him with the same playful eyes she always did.

"Where've you been?", Flash asked him in a jovial tone. He seemed slightly drunk.

"School mostly", Xander responded as he grabbed a chair.

"Kinda late you probably won't be able to stay long right?"

Xander shrugged. "Yeah well I'm not supposed to be here at all you know."

A large black teen cleverly named "Biggie", across the table nodded understanding.

"But den you wouldn't come here to visit. It ain't worth comin' all dat way."

Xander nodded.

"Quite correct my friend."

Xander pulled out the orange pellet and placed it on the table.

"I wonder if you guys can tell me what this is."

They all stared at the pellet for a moment and then Biggie picked it up and sniffed it.

"Hey I know dis smell. Just like dat old factory just off Desrali."

Xander looked thoughtful.

"That's in your guy's territory. I'm surprised you don't know about it."

"We don't know what goes down there", Flash explained. "Anyone who goes in to find out runs away screamin' about ghosts."

"Ghosts?"

He nodded.

"Yeah so no one goes near the place."

"Why you checkin' dis out anyway?" Biggie asked.

Xander sighed.

"Because Elle's been kidnapped and this is the only clue we have."

Everyone's eyes went wide. Elle was well known in the area for her volunteer work however numerous scares had forced from the area though she was still fondly remembered.

"You think it's those same guys?", Flash asked.

Xander noded.

"It has to be."

They all swore.

"And these same bastards might be the ones muscling in on our turf?"

"It's possible", Xander said. "But I don't think they're related to any gang. A child pornography ring is more likely."

The faces of everyone at the table were overcome with disgust.

Milly cut in.

"If we find anything out we'll let you know."

"We would appreciate it."

'Are we going there next?', Tech asked.

'We'll go tomorrow with everyone else.'

More time passed as Xander talked with them some more, asking a few more questions until he looked at his watch.

"Sorry everyone I have to catch the last bus."

"Aw, you're leaving already?" Milly pouted.

"I still have school tomorrow. Not everyone has spares in the morning."

"Say Zander what happened to Noir?", Biggie asked.

"You two didn't break up did you?", Milly gasped.

"She's just been busy lately and she's helping look for Elle on top of all that."

"Too bad. We haven't seen her for a while."

He smiled.

"I'll try and drag her here sometime soon. In the meantime, see ya."

"Bye", they said as he left.

Tech was waiting outside the door when Xander came out.

'So are we going home now?'

He nodded.

'Yeah we have things to prepare for tomorrow.'

'I see. By the way who's Noir?'

Xander chuckled.

'Don't worry, you'll meet her some day.'

'And she's helping us look for Elle?'

'Yep, as best she can.'

Amy's heart pounded as she crept through the alleyway in the dead of night. She couldn't see what lay directly in front of her and she didn't want to activate her flashlight for fear of giving herself away.

Her feet knocked a tin can away causing it to bounce down the alley with several loud knocks.

She momentarily froze to check if anyone heard her, straining her ears to listen for anyone moving in response to the noise. She heard nothing so she kept moving before she got spotted.

Finally at the end of the alley she spotted her objective: The adult shop where a large murder had occurred. The police said it was a turf battle between rival gangs but something told her there was more going on. Thus she was here to find out.

She knew there was always a chance the police were still watching the place so she had to be careful and stealthy.

Warily she snuck around the back of the building and approached the door.

She took a set of lock picks out of her pocket and using the skills she developed breaking into high school lockers she successfully picked the lock and let herself inside.

Closing the door behind her she turned on her flashlight and looked around.

She appeared to be in the storage room where boxes lay scattered some of them with their erotic contents in plain view. The police would have already gone over this room thoroughly so she moved on into the store area.

She checked the counter area first, maybe the cops might have missed a secret compartment or switch of some sort. The register was already missing so she checked the desk itself and the shelves behind it. She couldn't find anything.

She sighed and looked over the store front with her flashlight. Many of the shelves had been toppled their contents spilled all over the floor no doubt a result of the struggle that occurred during the murders.

As she walked among the shelves and all around the room something started nagging at her. She looked at the wall that was on the right as one would enter the store from the front.

She walked back to the store room and looked at the wall on the same side and it seemed a little closer. A quick double check confirmed it. The building's walls were all strait so why would this one be closer?

She walked over to it and rapped her knuckles on the wall. It sounded much too hollow to be an outside wall for a brick building. A false wall? That meant maybe there was a secret chamber on the other side!

Suddenly excited she began searching the wall for a switch or even the actual door. She pressed on the wall and tapped it in various places until she found one spot where it sounded differently. She looked over the surface but the only thing she found was a brass screw hole for a wall mounted light. There were several of those along the buildings inner walls.

She looked at the opposite wall and saw that there was one lamp still mounted on the wall. Seeing it gave her an idea.

She walked over to it and unscrewed the lamp from the wall. Unlike most lights which were mounted using bolts or screws the lamp itself was screwed into the wall socket which had a small notch for the electric wires.

When Amy finished unscrewing it she discovered no wires attached to it. This made her more confidant in her theory.

She went back to the threaded socket where she suspected the secret door was and screwed it in all the way. Then she grabbed the lamp and pulled.

Sure enough the door swung open revealing the secret chamber behind. Amy was impressed, the door had been seamless on the outside.

Using her flashlight she looked at the locking mechanism on the back of the door.

As the lamp was screwed in it pushed a lever that pulled the bolt locks out of their place. Simple but clever.

To the left of the door was a gun rack with several hunting rifles and shotguns. To the right was a steep stairway leading to the basement.

Excited and nervous Amy cautiously walked down the stairs.

She scanned her flashlight over the room as she descended seeing many crates and plastic bags scattered throughout the room and intriguingly a computer in the corner.

She eagerly walked over and turned it on.

As the computer whirred to life she inspected the bags and boxes around her.

The blue plastic bags contained something that looked like grass only broader and thicker. Some kind of drug plant?

She opened one of the wooden crates and took out a purple bag that was bigger and heavier than the blue ones. She opened it like she did the blue bag before and within were these strange orange pellets.

She pocketed one of each bag and returned to the computer only to find that she needed a password to access it. She tried inputting it as password but it didn't work, she didn't expect it to.

She looked at her watch and suddenly realized that she had exceeded the time she had allotted for herself to investigate the building.

Not wanting to push her luck any further she shut down the computer and left the basement closing the secret door behind her and even went as far as to screw the lamp back in its original spot.

She turned off the flashlight and cracked the outside door open. When she was confident that it was clear she left the building quietly closing the door behind her.

She sprinted across the small open ground between the building and the alley from which she came and cautiously made her way back to her car down the street her heart thundering in her ears the whole way.

She got in her car and quickly but casually left the scene.

Once she travelled a few blocks and the adrenaline subsided she started to relax.

She allowed herself a small laugh. She couldn't believe what she just did.

"I wish I could brag about it." She knew she couldn't of course; no one could know. At the very least she'd lose her job.

She turned onto the next street that would take her towards home and promised to treat herself to some chocolate cake for a job well done. Then later she would find out exactly what was in these bags.

Elle's vision was much cleared now. Despite the lack of illumination her eyes had adjusted to make best use of what there was.

There were about ten young girls in the room at the moment all of various ages. One looked like she was just a toddler, no more than four. While at the opposite end of the scale one girl looked about sixteen.

One girl in the corner caught her eye. She had lovely silver hair that sparkled even in the poor light in the room. Her eyes were also silver but they were cold and distant betrayer her mood. Warranted in their current situation but still very beautiful. Combined with her small body and porcelain skin she looked like and exquisitely crafted doll.

"Hi I'm Elle."

The other girl looked at her subtly blindsided by her sudden introduction.

"I'm Lolita", she replied in a monotone voice.

The name struck a chord in Elle. Lolita was not a common name, rare in fact.

"That's a nice name."

Lolita hugged and looked away.

"Loli's not very sociable", Amber whispered to Elle. "She keeps to herself."

The door opened and a bright light flooded into the room forcing all the girls to shield their eyes.

"Girl", said a raspy voice. "The Master wants you."

Lolita scowled as her eyes adjusted to the harsh light.

"Fine" she muttered.

With her own eyes adjusted Elle looked at the figure who spoke at Lolita. A figure that was floating in the air!

The ghost-like figure took the form of a ragged cloth with arms hidden within short sleeves and pair of large black eyes and a mouth of sharp teeth.

With Lolita now out of the room the ghost closed the door reverting the room back to the original dim illumination forcing the girls eyes to adjust again.

"What was that?", Elle asked.

"They're the henchmen of the Master", Amber explained. He's partners with Darwin who runs this place."

Elle frowned.

"And what does this 'Master' want with Lolita?"

She was afraid to hear the answer but she had to ask. She needed to know.

"Loli's his favorite servant. Not really sure why since he doesn't seem to do anything to her.

Elle was both puzzled and relieved. It didn't make an sense. Anyone who partnered with such people was surely sick in the head. Another thing was that ghost. She was sure she had seen one exactly like it somewhere but she couldn't remember where.

Derrick McKay sat at his desk dealing with the tediousness of paperwork.

A message on his pc screen told him that his earlier call was being replied to.

Happy to receive a break from the paper nightmare he clicked the command and a projector started up and began producing an image at the wall across the room from him.

"Hello Yamaki", he greeted. "I hope things have gone well."

Unlike McKay Yamaki stood with the door to his office visible in the background.

"Things could be better", Yamaki confessed.

"Your suit's dirty", McKay observed. "What happened?"

Yamaki sighed.

"We were attacked by two digimon. They infiltrated the building through a hole in our computer system left over by the D-Reaper, through the Juggernaut core."

Alarmed McKay leaned forward.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"Fortunately no but they stole some data from the bass storage banks we use to store uncategorized data. We've been sifting through all that since the D-Reaper left. It's going to take us a long time to find out what they took."

McKay nodded.

"Well at least you'll have some of your own digimon to fight against them when they come back. We're not so lucky."

Yamaki chuckled.

"With all the digimon appearing again I'm sure some will turn up. It's inevitable."

McKay crossed his arms.

"That can create some problems in and of itself."

Yamaki shrugged.

"If they're anything like the children we have here than it might not be as bad as you think."

McKay smirked.

"Speaking of which-", he lifted a folder form his desk and showed it to Yamaki. "-The DRD had been tasked to help track down some people responsible for a child pornography ring that's been linked to several kidnappings over the past few years."

Yamaki smiled.

"Well that brings back memories doesn't it. Hard to believe that one of our first jobs was using our computer skills hunting down those sick bastards."

McKay chuckled.

"I don't find it that hard to believe. The only thing special task forces wanted computer geeks for was hacking computers and finding internet sickos."

Yamaki pushed up his sunglasses.

"Well that's not entirely true but yeah more or less. How's the family by the way?"

"Good. Arthur's doing well with his baseball team and Amanda is going to try out for her school soccer team this year. Failing that she says she'll try for track and field."

"That's good to hear."

"Don't tell me your still single Yamaki", McKay said in a fatherly tone.

"Please don't start that argument again", Yamaki said flustered.

"You've been avoiding it for years Yamaki. If you don't get a woman in your life soon you're going to turn senile before you're forty."

"Let me worry about that", Yamaki said annoyed. "You better find those kids. If you need my help call again."

McKay nodded.

"Bye Yamaki."

The screen winked off and the projector automatically shut down.

"Bye Derrick", McKay muttered.

He set down the folder and looked at the photo of his family on his desk, specifically his six year old daughter Amanda.

He couldn't imagine what he would do if something happened to her. His family was everything to him, it gave him purpose beyond his job and that had saved him more than once. Nothing felt better than getting home after a long hard day and getting a hug from his baby girl and then sitting down with his family for one of his wife's wonderful dinners.

So he did his work to keep the place his family lived as safe and as comfortable as possible. After all that was what a father was supposed to do.

The basement was dark and cool with only a few floor lamps providing light. The room had few furnishings all old fashioned. Two figures sat in a pair of Victorian arm chairs facing each other a single coffee table between them and the floor underneath was covered in a round area rug.

Another figure in a maid uniform stood off to the side with a bottle of wine waiting for any prompting from the Master or Darwin.

The Master was a masked tall and imposing figure who covered himself in a long black cape rarely letting hang normally. Sitting across from him was Darwin a thinly built man with receding brown hair wearing a cheap navy blue suit and black tie.

"Things are going well", Darwin boasted. "The vitamins are really starting to sell well. We're making quite a lot of profit from them."

The Master nodded approvingly.

"Excellent. So the local parasites aren't giving you any trouble?"

"Just some snooping. Your ghosts are doing a good job keeping them away.

The Master chuckled.

"They might not be very powerful but against simple minded humans they are more than enough."

He raised his empty wine glass in a gesture that prompted Lolita to come and refill it.

"Still even the simple minded have their uses."

"Are you talking about that little pink thing you beat up every once in a while?"

"We all have our ways of dealing with our frustrations my friend."

Darwin shrugged.

"I suppose. But going back to the security issue; if all the local gangs call a truce to bring down this threat to their turf than they might actually overpower those floating grocery bags.

The Master set down on glass and interlocked his fingers with a cruel smile.

"Don't worry, I have something in place for just such an emergency."

Darwin now had a grin of his own.

"Than let's drink to another successful endeavor."

The Master raised his glass.

"Cheers."

After the toast he asked Darwin something.

"So what of your most recent acquisition?"

Darwin grinned maliciously.

"She's even better than we anticipated. Obviously she won't cooperate willingly but that's never been a serious issue before."

The Master mirrored his partners grin.

"So to which department will she be sent?"

Darwin set down his glass.

"Well originally we were going to send her to the photography department, however before we acquired her we discovered she had more potential in another area."

"Oh?" The Master was intrigued.

Just off to the side still holding the bottle of wine Lolita listened with rapt attention. Just what did they have planned for Elle?

Darwin went on.

"You see recently we reached an all time high for sales of our... products. Thus we felt it was time to expand our operations. So we decided to induct her into our new program.

An eager smile spread across The Masters features.

"So you've moved onto that already? Excellent, I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"The Doc's coming in tomorrow to get started. It'll be expensive but the payoff will be huge!"

"So that was the part of her that was better than anticipated?"

Darwin chuckled.

"According to her file we ought to be able to turn her into a living factory with a good variety of options packages."

"Exciting news", The Master said happily. "I shall enjoy every moment of this process."

"I'll make sure of it", Darwin assured him.

As they prattled on Lolita stood away appalled. She had only met Elle today and she did come off as sort of an overly cheery person but she didn't want anything to happen to her. Being The Master's favorite servant girl she had been present for most of the conversations between him and Darwin.

'If only I could break the seal', she thought as she tugged at her maid uniform. Of course if it weren't for the seal she would never have been caught in the first place. After all she had gone through was she still so useless?

"Hurry Richard! It's late and you're mother's already upset enough as it is."

It was just past midnight and the sky was dark with only the artificial illumination of the airport lights providing illumination to the world around them.

Richard was in the well lit space of his father's hanger putting away tools into their proper place.

His father ran a fairly lucrative air service business called 'Bishop Air' with a pair of well used Twin Otters and a second hand Cessna Caravan serving as the fleets primary workhorses. He and his father had just finished performing maintenance on his father's pride and joy. His DH-6 Beaver.

He had come to the St. Andrews airport hanger that the business operated out of and the two had lost track of time after getting absorbed into their work. Then Richards mother called just as they were finishing up, furious that his father had kept him up so late when it was a fair drive back home and he still had school tomorrow.

Now it was a race to get things put away and locked up before his mother became any more enraged.

As Richard closed up the toolbox he heard a small sound coming from behind some crates. Curious he approached the crates. If it was a rodent he would have to kill it before it chewed through anything.

He peered over the boxes and couldn't believe what he saw.

"Alright Richard all we have to do is lock the office door and we're good." He peered over his son's shoulder as he reached down behind the boxes.

"What've you got son?"

Richard pulled it out and showed him. They were both astonished.

It resembled a Pterodactyl albeit miniaturized. It was red and it's head was rounded, roughly egg shaped from the side. The leading edges of its wings were gold and it had a tiny tail.

"What is it?",his father asked.

"I don't know", Richard replied.

"Well we can't leave it here. We'll bring it home and then decide what to do with it later."

Richard wasn't sure if his mother would like that but they couldn't be any later than they already were.

They swiftly locked up the hanger got to the car and drove off hurriedly.

"I hope mom doesn't get even more angry when we bring this home", Richard said.

"She's got a good heart", his father said. "She won't throw it away."

Richard swallowed.

"I hope she still has one when we get home."

"You and me both", his father agreed.

* * *

**So at last I've updated after a long HIATUS that as a result of a huge drought in my motivation. Anyway I'm out of that now and working surprisingly quickly. So lots going on this chapter and Lolita is introduced. You'll be seeing a lot of her.**

**Xander's little secret is somewhat revealed and Amy gets a little more time to shine.**

**I don't know how long it will be till the next chapter is finished but please bare with me. I'm working on the next chapter of Dragon's fury right now but I'll get back to this as soon as I can.**


	20. Ghosts

Tamers West

Chapter 20: Ghosts

Jeri sat on a rock overlooking the desolate plain that surrounded the tamers temporary sanctuary.

Jeri's vantage point was on top of a large crescent shaped rock formation that sheltered the Tamers and their digimon. She faced one direction while the ever vigilant Guardramon faced the other.

She was glad there was something else she could do. She knew they only brought her along to make her feel involved, so she wouldn't feel left out. While she appreciated their thoughtfulness she didn't want their pity.

She let out a sigh. If only there was a way she could have more power. If only she was stronger than she could do something.

"Hey Jeri", a nervous voice said softly.

Jeri turned her head and smiled at Takato who had climbed up from the ground to her.

"You should be asleep", Jeri told him.

"Oh uh, Gigimon's snoring kept me up".

Jeri rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Do you need me to sing you a lullaby?", she teased.

Takato blushed.

"Uh, no thanks."

Jeri giggled. He was so easy to tease.

Takato sat beside her.

"See anything out there?"

She shook her head.

"No, not a thing."

Takato tapped his fingers.

"If you're tired I can take over for you."

Jeri raised an eyebrow at him.

"Takato I relieved you of guard duty only ten minutes ago."

He blushed fiercely.

"Oh was it only that long ago? I thought it was longer."

Jeri sighed.

"Why are you really here Takato?"

The goggled boy looked down at his feet not able to face her directly.

"You know you're still one of us right Jeri? You're still important to the team."

Jeri scowled inwardly despite her exterior smile. Like she thought before, she didn't want her pity but it hurt worse coming from Takato.

"You don't have to worry about me Takato I'm fine."

"Being part of the team isn't just about fighting", Takato continued unabated. "I mean after all before you even became a tamer you were considered part of the team! I know you might not think it and I know it doesn't feel like it right now but please believe me you're important."

He was looking right into her eyes now his own burning with zeal.

Jeri smiled, for real this time.

"Thanks Takato I needed that."

"Oh, well it's just the truth", Takato said blushing. He had surprised himself with his passionate speech.

"Now go back down and get some sleep", Jeri said firmly. "Or I'll tell your mother once we get back."

Knowing the threat was quite real Takato hurried down but paused for a moment.

"Goodnight Jeri."

Jeri nodded.

"Goodnight Takato."

As Takato went the rest of the way down Jeri looked back out over the expanse of desert and wondered. If she couldn't help fight then what could she do?

Then out of the corner of her vision she saw something shining near the base of the rock.

She briefly considered calling the others but decided against it. If it turned out to be nothing than she would just annoy them. After a quick check of the surrounding area she decided it was safe and carefully climbed down the rock to investigate the light.

Now much closer the light resembled a star or like the light that came from the portal to the digital world but without the pixilation. She had a sudden urge to reach out and touch it, but should she?

She didn't know much about the digital world despite all the time they spent here last time and who knows what might have changed since the D-Reaper left. Still...

She reached out with a tentative hand ever so slowly inching it towards the light. She could feel a faint warmth radiating from it, it was almost soothing, and it helped to reduce her fear but not her caution.

Finally her fingers brushed the light source but it wasn't solid, just warm. Feeling braver now she used her full hand to touch the light and was suddenly enveloped by burst of black energy.

She looked around and found herself surrounded by and inky blackness and she felt a pool of warmth in her abdomen, and then a great pain.

She cried out and something black burst out from her stomach and began to take form in front of her.

Jeri clutched her stomach as the pain subsided and looked at the transforming blackness with anxiety.

The blackness had now become a humanoid shape and began to better define it's features into a feminine shape. As the finer details became more clear she suddenly recognized the figure before her as herself.

Her doppelganger had a paler complexion and darker hair but when it opened its eyes they shone with a faint golden glow.

It, (or rather she) looked at Jeri and smiled.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you."

Her smile was genuine but unpleasant.

"Who-who are you?" Jeri asked shakily.

"You can call me Reji", she said as she floated closer. "And I'm you. Well a part of you anyway."

Jeri stopped shaking and was suddenly curious.

"What do you want?"

Reji's smile broadened and she floated closer.

"Why to help you of course."

"Help me with what?"

Reji brought their faces closer.

"You want to be stronger don't you? You want to be able to help your friends instead of being a burden like you have been."

Jeri cringed as Reji spoke. Her words stung deep.

"But more than that you want to be strong so that Takato will notice you. So that he'll want you."

Jeri blushed furiously.

"No-no you got it wrong it's not like that-"

Reji placed her hand over Jeri's mouth silencing her.

"I'm you remember. You can't hide anything from me. I know your every thought, and your deepest darkest secrets."

Jeri started trembling.

"Now now you don't need to worry I'm part of you so everything I do is for your benefit as it's in my own best interest as well. Don't worry though I genuinely care for you."

Jeri swallowed.

"Wha-what do I do?"

Reji shrugged.

"Right now, go back to guard duty. You're not ready yet to begin exploring the power that you have. Don't worry though, you won't have to wait long."

She turned away and started to leave.

"I'll see you again soon Jeri."

She looked back and grinned.

"Really soon."

Reji then faded to black and vanished and the darkness around her began to dissipate revealing the stark expanse of the digital world.

Jeri looked around and saw no sign of Reji, only barren wasteland. She turned around and climbed back up to her guard position on the rock. Once there she thought back to her brief conversation with Reji.

Was she really a part of herself or was she actually someone trying to deceive her and use her like the D-Reaper had done.

She sat down and mulled it over. If what Reji said was true than wasn't it best for everyone that she should become stronger? She had to admit though it seemed a bit too good to be true. And then the other reason.

She looked down at the others sleeping, specifically Takato who lay clutching Gigimon protectively. It brought a smile to her face. He was even sweeter in his sleep.

She couldn't deny her feelings for Takato. They were there and they were strong. She wanted to be the woman that he wanted, one that he deserved. She had to become stronger not just for her sake but for Takato as well and for everyone. She would not be a weak link.

She gazed up at the world slowly rotating above them wistfully.

"Soon she said."

Richard struggled to find his more rugged clothing among the disaster that was his bedroom.

It was the weekend now but that didn't mean a break. Jeff had called only moments ago waking him from his late sleep. Apparently they had a great lead to Elle's captors and they wanted all the help they could get.

Finally he found all the clothing articles he needed and made his way to the door. As he passed the kitchen he stopped.

His sister was seated at the counter feeding the small red creature that he and his father had brought home the other night.

As expected his mother had been much less than pleased at how late they had arrived home but as they hoped the needy creature had distracted her getting them off the hook.

"Did it just wake up?" he asked his sister.

His sister Abigail or "Abby" was a year younger than he was and had the same dark brown hair and hazel green eyes as their mother. She was an accomplished gymnast having won several ribbons and medals. She often acted tough but she had a soft and gentle heart as she was currently displaying.

She smiled as the tiny bat winged creature munched on some fruit that Abby had brought and appeared stronger than it had when they found it in the hanger.

"How's it doing?", Richard said a little louder after failing to get his sisters attention with his first query.

Abby looked up apparently just noticing him.

"It's doing fine. He woke up a little while ago. Definitely better at waking up in the morning than you."

"He also went to sleep earlier than me", Richard shot back.

"Whatever. You going out?"

"Yeah I'm meeting my friends from school and we're going somewhere. I have the cell if you need me."

"When have I ever needed you?", she mocked.

"How about when you fell face first in that mud pit and I had to pull you out before you drowned?"

"Just go!" She shouted.

"Going", Richard said as he left.

While it was true that Abby had a bit of a short fuse she was still a kind and gentle girl when it came down to it. For some reason that escaped him she rarely showed it unless he was around. At least that's what he knew from other peoples testimonies. But of course women were an unsolvable mystery.

'Now I just have to meet Hanse and we'll set off.'

Richard almost couldn't believe what he was doing. Jeff had called him earlier that they had found a clue to Elle's whereabouts and wanted help checking it out.

Richard was rather surprised at this. He knew that they were deeply worried about Elle's disappearance but doing their own investigation like this was dangerous. Nonetheless his sense of curiosity and adventure that had attracted him to flying now drew him in down this path. It didn't hurt that Hanse was going too.

Richard found this a bit odd for Hanse's calm gentle nature but his best friend was an enigma, very unpredictable.

Richard was still nervous about the location at which they would be meeting right in the middle of down town but felt much better about everyone else being there with him. Still he couldn't shake this feeling that something was going to happen.

Amy tapped her foot impatiently has she searched through news blogs about some of the less news worthy occurrences in the city, hoping to find some sort of clue to link up with what she had found in the basement of that shop.

She had been sitting at her computer for several hours and had come up with little except an increase in gang activity. Hoping that was a clue she had refined her search but thus far little had come up that was of any apparent relevance. Still the best news stories were often the ones buried under everything else.

Suddenly she came upon an interesting title. "Gang Ghosts."

Although not apparently relevant to what she was looking for it was different from everything else she had come upon thus far so she clicked it and hoped for something interesting.

The blog talked about gangs trying to spy on recent activity in a seemingly abandoned factory only to be scared away by ghosts that were apparently working at the factory.

Amy tapped her chin thoughtfully and remembered earlier blogs referring to increased gang activity over someone unknown moving into the area each thinking the other was responsible.

Amy went back and reviewed some of those earlier blogs and was able to deduce the location.

An eager grin spread across her face.

"Now I'm finally getting somewhere!"

The same thrill that had filled her when she discovered the secret passage in the store once again filled her. She grabbed her keys and headed to her car eager for another discovery.

Commandramon crawled on his belly to the edge of the flat roof of an abandoned building his senses on high alert for anything nearby.

He cautiously peered over the edge and scrutinized the target building.

Jeff said it was an abandoned factory but he didn't know what used to be built there. It had been abandoned before even his parents birth.

The building was still intact though. The bricks had turned a mottled brown but there were no visible weaknesses in the walls. Most of the window had been broken and replaced by plywood. To a soldier like him it was a fortress hiding in plain sight.

"You see anything?"

He heard Jeff's voice as if her were right next to him, but he wasn't. Jeff was using their digivice to communicate with him. Commandramon had no idea how or why it worked and he found it freaky at times but it was convenient and after some tests they confirmed that he was the only one who could hear Jeff's voice.

"No activity outside the building", he reported. "Most of the windows are boarded up though so I can't see inside."

"Probably too much reflection to see in anyway", Jeff commented. "I've checked the sheds and there's nothing there, at least nothing that hasn't been there for the last fifty years or so."

"Can we assume then that everything's in the main building."

"Most likely. Mike called in a minute ago. There's nothing on their side either but Dokunemon's sneaking in for a closer look."

"That's risky", the cyborg dino said. "We're just scoping the place out we don't want to give ourselves away. Black Gatomon would be better."

"She's not here yet and Mike said he can do it so we're gonna have to let him do it. I really want him to join our team."

Commandramon sighed. He had to admit gaining allies sounded good with such powerful digimon coming to face them. Fortunately there hadn't been any encounters since Dokunemon's battle with Stingmon. What's more Dokunemon had proven himself capable of digivolution, the coveted gift all digimon sought. He himself hoped that soon he would be able to digivolve.

"Dokunemon's on the roof", Jeff's relayed to him.

Commandramon looked through his rifle scope and was able to see the tiny larva digimon peering in through the roof mounted windows strait into the building interior.

Commandramon steeled himself in preparation for his tiny green ally getting spotted his sights set in Dokunemon's area ready to shoot anyone who appeared behind him.

Dokunemon stayed for only ten seconds before retreating back to Mike's position.

Commandramon watched the building in case anyone or anything came out to investigate as he waiting for Jeff to relay the intelligence. He soon did, in one word.

"Bakemon."

Commandramon scowled.

"Great."

Richard and Hans waited in an empty courtyard out of sight from anybody on the street for the arrival of Alice and Xander.

Richard looked over at Hans who was staring at his portable GPS.

"You sure this is the right place?"

Hans shrugged.

"This place matches the coordinates Xander gave me."

Richard frowned. Xander had given all of them a set of specific instructions. They had to meet up right here out of sight, they had to wear neutral clothing with only white or black clothing with no symbols of any kind short of brand trademarks.

Hans wore dark grey sweat pants and a T-shirt while he himself wore a white shirt and black pants.

"This all seems unnecessary", Richard commented.

"Not around here it isn't", Xander said as he and Alice appeared in the courtyard. "I couldn't risk you wearing any gang colours."

This got Richards full attention.

"Gang colours? We're in gang territory?"

"I don't know if you've noticed Richard but this isn't exactly Park Avenue."

"But this is dangerous!", he protested. He was hoping Hans would jump in but his friend remained his strong silent self as if he had known what they were getting into all along.

"If you listen to what I say and if you avoided any distinguishing colours then everything should be fine."

Alice also seemed to have followed his instructions well. She wore a pair of jeans with a grey shirt with dark blue sleeves; they would look black from a distance. She had even swapped out her blue ribbons for black ones. Looped over her shoulder was a large black handbag. Not the most useful accessory for what they were about to do.

Xander wore a dark charcoal grey long sleeved shirt and dark brown jeans. He also wore fingerless gloves and a black cap.

"Anyway let's get going. Mike and Jeff are already staking the place out and we have to hurry."

He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a portable radio.

"Xion reporting: met legion proceeding to the club, out."

Xander waited until he heard two bursts of static then pocketed the radio.

"Let's go then. We don't want to spend too much time in one place."

Richard just shook his head in disbelief.

"What have I gotten myself into."

The group started walking down the street, silent and purposeful. Richard and Alice kept looking around as if expecting a posse of armed gang members to burst out of every corner and garbage pile.

"Stop that", Xander said harshly. "It makes you look vulnerable."

_"Xander, there are four men in green heading towards you."_ Tech warned.

Tech was moving on the rooftops keeping watch while trying to be unnoticed himself.

Xander cursed under his breath. They were in a fairly open area at the moment despite the mounds of trash and rubble stacked around them but lines of sight were long.

Xander turned his head slightly and glanced to his right.

There were four men, or rather youths in their mid or late teens walking casually towards them.

"Everyone stay casual keep looking and walking ahead."

Tension went up among everyone else but they obeyed looking straight forward as if everything was fine.

"Hey you!"

They froze though Xander stopped more calmly and casually. They would have to handle this carefully.

"Aren't you kids a little far from your moms."

The one in the lead wore a green hoodie with his hood up and his hands in the pouch pocket. The others wore a mix of green shirts and pants.

"We're just passing through.", Xander said.

The leader grinned.

"Yeah but see, there's a toll you have to pay for going through our turf.", he said as he eye Alice's handbag.

Xander sighed.

"I see. Alice, let him check your bag."

Alice looked at him horrified but Xander looked at her sternly.

Reluctantly Alice unzipped her bag the rest of the way and let the punk put his hand into the bag not noticing Xander's slight lean towards them.

"Ouch!"

The punk suddenly drew back and stepped away.

"Something bit me!"

Xander shrugged.

"I never said you'd like what was in there."

The punk grabbed Xander by his shirt collar.

"Maybe I should just beat the money out of you instead."

There was a flash of motion from Xander arm and suddenly the punks eyes went wide and he slowly released Xander with his hands up.

"Now look man I don't want any trouble."

Xander reached out and grabbed the punk by his hoodie.

"No you just wanted to cause it didn't you."

The others suddenly realized that Xander was holding a knife blade up to the punks neck. When the punk had leaned forward to reach into Alice's handbag Xander and discreetly reached inside his hoodie pouch and taken his two inch knife.

"I bet you thought you were rather tough, but you're not. You want to know what I see in your eyes right now?", Xander asked darkly. "It's not firm resolve or integrity like someone tough would have. I see only fear and terror."

His allies tried to move in to help but Xander spotted them.

"One move and the sidewalk gets painted red."

They froze, caution and fear in their own eyes.

"Now if you guys want out of this situation you will run away and leave us alone. NOW!"

The three punks ran off more out of fear of their leader being killed then their own lives.

"Hey wait!"

Xander pulled the punk closer.

"If you want to live then you will do the same. Scram!"

Xander released him and the punk ran after his fellow gang members.

"Twerp", Xander muttered.

He pocketed the blade and turned to the others.

"Everyone all right?"

The others just stared at him bewildered.

"We're fine", Hans said breaking the silence.

"Good. Let's go before they call friends as stupid as they are."

"I'm surprised they caved in so easily", Hans commented.

Xander snorted.

"They're all green. They don't have the experience or intellect to deal with such situations. If they did they wouldn't be in a gang in the first place."

Richard looked over at Alice.

"So what do you have in your handbag Alice?"

Alice smiled and opened up the handbag and a small white furry creature poked it's head out.

"This is Xiaomon", she said. "He doesn't have a neck so I can't put a collar on him."

The other two stared at the creature.

"What's the matter?", Xander asked them jokingly. "Never seen a digimon before?"

The other two were flabbergasted, even Hans was noticeably shocked.

"You don't think we would go snooping around this area without some high cards did you?"

Richard tried to speak but he could only stammer.

"But wait y-you. I mean y-you're."

"Tamers?", Alice finished for him. "Yes though we're trying to keep it a secret. We're letting you guys in on it because you came to help us and it's much easier than keeping it a secret."

"Let's keep going", Xander said. "The others are waiting for us."

Elle was only dimly aware of her situation, or at least part of it. She was lying on a flat surface in a well lit room, but her vision was so blurry that she could only make out colors, even basic shapes were beyond her ability at the moment.

Her instincts told her she was in danger, that she should try to get out, but for some reason she didn't care. She was drugged heavily, she knew that even if she could muster the will she was in no condition to do anything.

Another indistinguishable shape appeared over her and the incomprehensible noises suddenly coming through the hearing part of her brain made her believe it was speaking to her. Of course she couldn't understand it.

When it stopped speaking she became dimply aware of something piercing her arm and with what little logic she could conjure from her drug addled brain determined she'd been given a shot of some kind, a fact confirmed as her vision was swallowed up by darkness and her brain at last rested.

From behind glass windows The Master and Darwin watched as the doctor began to work on the girl that would become the template for their newest scheme.

"And so begins the beginning of yet another delicious endeavor", The Master said evilly.

Darwin nodded.

"And this is just the start. If this works as well as we hope then the rewards will be immense, a near monopoly, and the beginnings of an empire.

The Master crossed his arms confidently.

"A delicious prospect indeed."

Darwin stepped off to the side.

"Let's go back and have some wine and return when the doctor is finished."

"An excellent suggestion", the Master agreed.

Near the abandoned factory the group was at last gathered together. They had rendezvoused behind one of the decrepit storage sheds behind the main factory building.

"No activity on the outside at all", Jeff reported. "Only two entrances: one near the front where the offices used to be and by the loading dock. Dokunemon managed to get a look inside."

Mike then took his turn.

"There's digimon running this place, mostly Bakemon from what we could see but there's some others that we couldn't recognize."

Xander frowned.

"With our forces so limited I really don't want to walk into any surprises. Not all ultimates are the size of Godzilla."

"Maybe Commandramon and I should stay outside and keep watch."

Xander shook his head.

"No that's their job."

He gestured to Hans and Richard behind him.

"We're going in pretty much blind so we're going to need to concentrate our fighting power so we should also go in the same entrance. I think the loading dock would offer the best way in."

"There'll be more of them there", Jeff argued. "Going in through the front will allow us to better maintain the element of surprise."

"If we surprise them at the loading dock we can take more of them out at once and we'll have more room to maneuver."

"But will have less cover", Jeff countered.

Mike stepped in with his suggestion.

"Maybe Dokunemon and I should go in through the top and you guys go in through the loading dock. That way we can provide support. I got a card that's perfect for the job."

"Can you get in without being seen?" Jeff asked.

"Definately."

"We're here too ya' know."

Richard said crossing his arms.

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"You guys are going to go on that roof over there and keep watch outside while we go in. Use the radio to contact us but maintain silence until you here lots of noise inside. This is important we don't want to be unprepared if they bring in reinforcements or the cops."

Richard cringed.

"Saying that you make it sound like we're doing something criminal."

"Technically we are since this is arguably a form of vigilantism."

Richard winced.

"I have a feeling this isn't going to end well."

"Stay positive" Mike said cheerfully. "Everything will work out."

Alice gently set down Xiaomon on the ground and adjusted her bag.

"So then, is everyone ready?"

"Absolutely", the three male tamers responded.

Richard shrugged.

"I suppose as ready as we'll ever be."

Hans remained his quiet self and simply looked ready.

"Okay than I guess we'll start."

For a while the 'infiltration' group consisting of the tamers waited for the 'lookout' team of Richard and Hans to get into position on the roof of a nearby former office building.

"Okay we're in place", Richard called over the radio.

Alice would be holding onto the walkie-talkie for the infiltration team. She pressed on the talk button and responded as best she could.

"Uh, roger maintain radio silence until engagement."

There was a long pause on the other end until Richard responded.

"Okay."

Alice put the radio back into her bag and looking up noticed all the boys and their digimon staring at her.

"What?"

Mike reached over and patted her on the head.

"You're so cute Alice."

The others smirked and started moving on with Alice and her burning cheeks in tow.

From their position on the roof Richard and Hans could see them creeping cautiously but swiftly across the open ground towards the loading docks and the door that would take them inside.

"They sure are taking this seriously", Richard remarked.

"They're going into an old building filled with digimon of unknown numbers and strength in hope of finding clues to the location of their best friend. I think they would be foolish not to take it seriously."

Richard glanced over at his Germanic friend.

"Touché."

The two boys tensed as the infiltration team neared the door that would take them inside the loading dock until they reached an iron ladder and Mike started to climb with this worm like partner clinging to his back. They way he moved though he didn't seem to mind or notice the extra weight.

Once he had slipped over onto the roof the others resumed their approach to the loading dock pedestrian door. Xander's human like partner in the lead followed by Xander himself then Alice and her dog-like digimon with Jeff and his cyborg partner bringing up the rear.

Tech reached out and grasped the door handle but couldn't open it. Jeff switched places with him and from their position the two lookouts guessed that he was trying to pick the lock.

Jeff took little time and slowly creaked the door open. He waited until all the others had gone through and then went through himself. Now all they could do was wait and see.

From his position on the roof looking in through the window Mike could make out the blurry shapes of the Bakemon moving boxes throughout the loading dock. He couldn't see where the others were but he spotted a catwalk that would allow him to get down to the main floor.

Dokunemon had succeeded in prying one of the nearby windows open with his beak allowing Mike to get his fingers in a position to pull it open.

They both cringed as the window squeaked open and paused to check for any reaction from the Bakemon. None, they continued on with their task oblivious to the intruders.

Mike squeezed through the small opening and then quietly climbed onto the catwalk below.

From this new position he could see the Bakemon much more clearly than through the filthy glass and he spotted the others creeping in through what looked like another small office like space. Probably where all the orders and invoices had been handled.

Jeff looked up at him and nodded slightly. Mike returned the nod indicating that they could see each other. It also indicated that if any of the Bakemon looked up they would see him through the grated floor of the catwalk.

Reaching out with all his senses Mike could hear the flowing and boiling of liquids and the crumpling of plastic bags being packaged. He could hear it coming from immediately beyond the shipping receiving section that was merged with the loading dock. An inefficient design he noted.

He looked back down at the others who were peering through cracks between the stacked crates.

In total there weren't all that many for such a huge space, only slightly over a hundred perhaps one-fifty, but they were all stacked together which from the others perspective would make it seem like there was far more.

Mike silenced his thoughts as some of the Bakemon began to converse.

"I can't wait till we bring over some more help from the digital world" one said as it slumped onto one of the crates. I'm one pooped spook."

"At least we got Rose to keep our spirits up", another said.

"We are spirits", a third interjected.

A stupid grin spread over the first one.

"Ah Rose. A ghost made not of torn sheets but of the unspoiled fabric or a queens robe."

"Stop that!" a voice shouted from the factory.

Another ghost appeared, like a Bakemon but it had a witches hat on its head that was so big it fell over its eyes.

"A Soulmon", Dokunemon said sickly. "What's a vile thing like that doing here?"

"Get off your rag and get back to work or I'll make sure you never see Rose again! We have a schedule to keep and the Master doesn't like it when work get behind."

Gulping the Bakemon quickly went back to their duties and the Soulmon who was clearly an authority of some type floated back to the factory floor.

Mike leaned towards Dokunemon.

"This 'Rose' sounds like something real different from these guys. Do Bakemon have a separate female species?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I'm sure that 'Baka-mon' was just fantasizing. I haven't seen one of those things yet that didn't look disturbing."

Mike looked back down at the others and Xander gave him the signal to begin.

Mike nodded and took out the card he had slipped into his pocket when he had earlier separated it from his deck.

"You ready?"

Dokunemon nodded and leapt off the catwalk towards the midst of the stacking ghosts.

**Digimodify: Cyclone Activate!**

As Dokuneomon plummeted to the floor he spun around rapidly and a vortex formed around him spreading out in all directions. Stunned the Bakemon were slammed by the attack being shoved against the walls and into the stacks of boxes.

The instant the attack ended the others burst from hiding and attacked the stunned Bakemon deleting them swiftly.

Suddenly the Soulmon returned to investigate the disturbance.

"What's going on-Intruders!"

Dokunemon lunged at him but Soulmon dodged to the side and then attacked the rest of the party.

**Necro Magic**

A swirl of green energy flew at them but Xiaomon stepped in front and with a shrill bark cancelled out the attack.

**Plasma Bolt**

Tech's attack knocked Soulmon over Dokunemon and into the factory floor beyond the shipping/receiving area.

"Keep moving", Jeff yelled.

They moved deeper into the building and were instantly attacked by the horde of ghosts inside.

Just by reflex Jeff grabbed a nearby steel bar and swung it at one of the charging Bakemon knocking it aside.

They suddenly came upon the realization that the Bakemon were weak digimon, weak enough that a human could attack them effectively. Xander quickly grabbed a prop rod and Alice a 2x4. Mike also joined them already holding pipe wrench and they quickly joined in the fight invigored that they could at last fight alongside their partners.

The Soulmon managed to prop itself up and viewed the carnage as his army of spooks crumpled beneath the combined might of four humans and their digimon.

"Being beaten by humans", it growled. "I'll never live this down if it gets out."

Quickly it left the immediate scene of battle and entered one of the storage rooms and approached a sheet covered object standing alone in the corner of the room. It yanked the dust covered sheet off exposing the strange item.

It resembled a stone alter with circuitry visible beneath its glossy translucent outer layer.

Soulmon flipped down a panel on the front of the alter exposing a large red button. He was not to press it except in the most dire of situations.

"If I don't do something I'm deleted anyway", the Soulmon muttered grimly.

With nothing to lose he pushed the button and flew off outside the building as the alter began to charge with energy.

"Let's see how you handle this humans."

At this point in the battle the remaining Bakemon had begun to flee realizing the futility of their defense and passed through the walls to the outside.

Now alone the panting Tamers and their digimon switched to the job of searching the building for clues.

"I'll check the office", Mike said as he ran to the end of the building.

"We'll check here than", Alice replied.

With the Bakemon gone the factory floor revealed itself.

The steaming and bubbling were coming from large brushed steel furnaces with pipes sprouting out from the top and branching out into small hoses that leaked into what appeared to be heat presses.

Upon closer examination the presses appeared to turn the liquid coming from the hoses into orange pellets. Alice pulled out their sample from her handbag and confirmed it.

"This is the place alright", Xander said.

"Over here", Jeff called from the other end of the room.

Where Jeff was standing were nearly a hundred clear plastic bags filled with a strange grass like product.

"Pot?", Jeff guessed.

Xander shrugged.

"Not entirely sure but it definitely isn't lawn mulch."

Alice reached out for a bag and tore open the surprisingly flimsy packaging. She reached in her hand and pulled out a handful then gave it a sniff.

"Doesn't smell special at all."

"I don't think that's the street product", Jeff said. "They probably grind it up and mix it with something else."

"We'll take a bag of both any, just to see if we can find out what they are." Xander said. "From what I can guess it gets mixed in to the liquid they make the pellets out of."

Suddenly all the digimon perked up and Xiaomon started growling.

"What's going on?" Xander asked his partner.

Suddenly a fog swept through the building, one that they instantly recognized.

"It's a digital field!" Xander exclaimed.

"We gotta bail", Jeff yelled.

Xander called out to Mike and Dokunemon at the other end of the building.

"Mike Evacuate! Evacuate!"

The wall suddenly burst as a massive black form smashed through it.

"Run!", Commandramon yelled.

The tamers ran as flames erupted behind them consuming the equipment and narcotics in an inferno that threatened to consume the entire building.

They burst out the door from which they came and ran for cover behind the storage sheds. No sooner did they reach the sheds than the loading dock explode as the massive black form emerged from the collapsing factory.

"Ah it's Dark Tyranomon!" Commandramon yelled. "Watch out these guys are nuts; they'll attack anything that moves!"

"That thing's Champion level. How are we supposed to beat that?", Jeff yelled.

"And where's Mike?", Alice asked.

Amy was still trying to drive into the centre of the city the brutal traffic resulting from all the road works drastically slowing her progress until she finally managed to get onto the back streets away from the main streets.

"Where is it", she wondered to herself. She knew it was around here somewhere.

A plume of dust and smoke appeared over the buildings catching her immediate attention. Her investigative instincts told her she needed to go there, and it was most likely where she needed to go anyway.

With a renewed sense of purpose she accelerated through the streets to the rising cloud of dust and smoke beyond.

Dark Tyranomon roared and lumbered towards the tamers hiding behind the storage sheds.

Commandramon bravely hurled a grenade at the towering black behemoth but the explosion went barely noticed by the lumbering giant.

The tamers immediately abandoned their positions as Dark Tyranomon incinerated the sheds with its fiery breath. It cried out loudly as it gave chase stomping through the burnt out remains of the storage sheds kicking up debris and sending it flying.

Tech used his shield to block some of the incoming debris from hitting them but at the same time they all wondered what they could do against this immense foe.

**Plasma Bolt**

Tech's attack slammed into Dark Tyranomon's nose sending its head reeling back and stopping its advance allowing the tamers to gain some distance.

"We need a plan", Commandramon said as they ran. "We can't just keep running."

They hid behind another building and the tamers pulled out their card decks in an attempt to figure out a strategy. As they shuffled through them however they frowned. Their collections were meager even with the recent additions from their purchases at the comic shop.

"I don't think anything we got's going to be enough", Jeff said worriedly.

"Unless one of them is named 'Miracle' I don't see how it would make a difference anyway", Commandramon stated.

"No choice then", Tech said. "We have to fight him head on."

He burst from hiding and launched another Plasma Bolt at Dark Tyranomon's head.

"We'll I'm not letting him be the hero". Commandramon followed firing his assault rifle furiously as he ran.

Dark Tyranomon swept Tech aside and shot a blast of flame from his mouth to run down the cyborg dino.

Reacting quickly Jeff pulled out a card.

**Digimodify: Hyperspeed Activate**

With the burst in speed Commandramon was able to keep ahead of the stream of fire that threatened to roast him like a duck.

Distracted Dark Tyranomon had forgotten about Tech.

**Light Spear**

Tech jammed his staff into the back of Dark Tyranomon's head causing the creature to howl out in pain.

Commandramon seized his opportunity and hurled a grenade into its open mouth.

The monster roared in pain as the grenade exploded and then backed against a building and smashed the back of it head against the wall to remove Tech but he suddenly appeared right in front of him.

"Nice try."

Instantly Dark Tyranomon blasted him with fire and smacked him far away. Then began to pursue Commandramon who used the last of his hyperspeed to gain some distance and began firing at him from as far away as possible but Dark Tyranomon went after him crying out as he pursued him.

From their vantage point Richard and Hans watched as the rampage of the digital godzilla continued. Commandramon running for cover and Tech returning from his involuntary flight to back up his team mate but the two just didn't seem to be doing enough damage.s

"How are they going to beat that monster?" Richard exclaimed!

"It's not a monster!"

Richard jumped at Hans sudden outburst. Raising his voice like that was uncharacteristic.

"Can't you see it's in pain. Can't you see it suffering."

Richard looked back at the dinosaur as it battled with the two other digimon that were hitting it as hard as they could and it looked like they were having some effect but how much longer could they keep it up.

"Well I don't think it's gonna' be suffering for too much longer once it tires them out."

Hans grunted in frustration and pushed himself up to his feet.

"Hans wait."

Richards call went unheeded as his friend bolted down the fire escape towards the ground.

"What's he doing?" Richard wondered aloud.

He looked back out onto the battlefield and noticed something on the street.

"Oh no."

Xander frantically looked through the cards in his deck most of them however were not modify cards they were digimon cards.

He growled in frustration. What could they do? Their digimon couldn't keep this up much longer, and there was no sign of Mike or Dokunemon.

Richards voice breaking over the radio suddenly broke his focus.

"Hey! There's a car over to the west."

Looking to the west the tamers saw a compact car roll up to the factory dangerously close to the digimon battle playing out.

"Oh crap!"

The car screeched to a halt upon seeing the massive black digital reptile the shrill sound catching Dark Tyranomon's attention. It turned around and sent a blast of flame at the tiny car.

Tech just in the nick of time teleported onto the cars roof and put up his shield blocking the devastating stream of fire.

"Hurry and back away!", Xander yelled at the driver even though they probably couldn't hear him.

Still the driver soon recovered and with a screech from its front wheels the car backed away as fast as it could.

Dark Tyranomon roared and pursued.

"We gotta do something!" Jeff yelled desperately.

Suddenly Hans burst from behind one of the buildings and placed himself between Dark Tyranomon and the reversing car.

"Stop!", he yelled at the enormous lizard. His eyes held not a trace of fear, his stance neither hesitant nor weak-kneed.

"What is he doing?" Jeff asked bewildered. In fact they were all too shocked to even think. Even Richard who knew Hans the most just lay at his post shaking his head and saying to himself:

"He's drunk, he's got to be drunk."

Fortunately Dark Tyranomon was just as baffled as the rest of them.

"I understand what you're feeling", Hans yelled up to the towering creature before him. "I understand your pain. I know how much it hurts."

Dark Tyranomon growled menacingly causing everyone to gulp in fear of Hans' life; but the German boy remained unwavered.

"I know how much it hurts! I know you think there's no forgiveness but there is. You can turn your life around, you can be free from the pain."

Dark Tryranomon bent down closer to him, its nose inches from Hans and its eyes still filled with barely contained rage and madness.

Commandramon could take no more and ran to intervene and hopefully save Hans life.

Suddenly something jumped in front of him forcing him to halt mid-step almost falling over.

"Dokunemon?"

"Don't interfere", the Larva digimon said firmly.

The others seemed to be doing the same, afraid that even the slightest move could result in Hans becoming a Frankfurter.

Gently Hans reached out and touched Dark Tyranomon's rough black skin causing everyone's tension to spike waiting and wondering what would happen next.

Hans looked up into the mad eyes of the enormous creature before him with his own firm, but understanding.

Then a soft glow seemed to envelop Dark Tyranomon and tiny particles seemed to be coming off its body. Gradually the glow intensified until it became blinding and now the particles were streaming off its body until finally it subsided and vanished.

Hans unshielded his eyes and no longer saw the massive form of the dinosaur like creature; but laying down at his feet was another much smaller dinosaur.

Another light though seemed to be shining from his pocket and he pulled out his GPS device just in time to see it transform before his eyes into a much sleeker and more streamlined design.

"What is this?" He wondered.

The others hurriedly ran over.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked him.

Hans nodded solemnly.

"Yes I'm fine."

"I don't think so", Commandramon interjected. "I think you might be insane."

"Let's not get into it right now" Xander interrupted trying to avoid an argument. "I just think we should all get out of here before the cops come."

"Hey!"

The driver of the car ran over.

"Say, what's going on here? Who are you kids?"

Jeff recognized the woman.

"Wait I remember you. You're Amy right? You were at Natalie's wedding."

Amy thought for a moment.

"Oh right I remember you. You're Elle's boyfriend."

The boys snickered at Jeff's expense.

"I'm not her boyfriend", he insisted.

"But you were the only one dancing with her all night." She said.

"All night", Mike emphasized.

"She doesn't need help from you", Jeff snapped. "What happened to you anyway?"

Mike shrugged.

"We got trapped under a desk when the ceiling came down. Took us a while to get out."

"Maybe we should talk about this later", Alice interjected. "We should probably take this guy to my house."

She was referring to the unconscious form of the former Dark Tyranomon. Now he appeared to be a Black Agumon.

"We can use my car", Amy offered.

Alice smiled.

"Thank you. I'll show you the way."

Finally Richard appeared panting after running the entire distance from his look out post to their position.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing much", Mike said. "You just have to help carry this guy to that car".

Richard looked down at the Black Agumon sprawled on the ground and then back up at the others.

"You're kidding right?"

"Better hurry", Xander said. "The cops'll be here soon. The three of us will take the bus back. We can blend in better here."

Richard sighed and helped Hans pick up and carry the miniaturized dino into the car with Alice carrying Xiamon close behind.

The three boys and their digimon waited until the car was gone before they began walking.

"Does this mean Hans is a tamer now too?", Mike asked.

"After what he did he's earned it", Jeff remarked. Can't really say the same for us though, it just sort of happened automatically."

He then looked back at Mike.

"Unless you and Dokunemon count as partners."

Mike and the small larva digimon hesitated.

"We're a team", Mike finally answered.

"Yes", Dokunemon agreed. "A team."

Then they heard a clapping sound echoing around them and they looked around trying to find the source.

"Very impressive humans."

They looked up and saw Soulmon on one of the nearby roof tops.

"But you haven't won yet."

Suddenly at least thirty Bakemon flew out of the windows and floated in the air over Soulmon's head.

The tamers quickly grabbed some items to use as makeshift clubs. Jeff a pipe, Xander a piece of wood, and Mike acquired a piece of railing from a ruined fire escape.

"You'll need more than that to take us on", Commandramon mocked.

Soulmon only grinned.

"You underestimate us."

The Bakemon began to swirl around in a vortex culminating at the top and molded together. There was a brief flash and suddenly there was a single large Bakemon with zombie like arms coming out of its sleeves.

"Now you're doomed", Soulmon cackled.

The now larger Bakemon charged at them.

**Plasma Bolt**

Tech sent a blast directly at the charging spirit but the ghost simple deflected the attack as if it were a tennis ball.

**Hells Hand**

Bakemon slashed at them and they just barely dodged it.

**Grenade**

Commandramon hurled a grenade directly at the massive spook but the ghost only sneered.

**Poison Breath**

The rancid breath blew the grenade away and right back at Commandramon where it exploded. Commandramon was blown back several feet by the explosion of his own attack.

Dokunemon moved in next to prevent Bakemon from doing a follow-up attack.

**Poison Claw**

Bakemon swatted away the tiny larva digimon and moved in to attack the still recovering cyborg.

**Light Spear**

Tech tried to strike from the side but Bakemon turned and grabbed him stopping the attack mere centimeters from its mark.

Tech simply teleported out of his grasp and a grenade suddenly appeared.

The grenade exploded right in Bakemon's face and Commandramon quickly followed-up with his assault rifle.

**Poison Claw**

Dokunemon struck from behind but the attack didn't do much damage and Bakemon instantly recovered.

**Hells Hand**

Bakemon swiped the tiny worm sending him flying into the remains of the factory.

"Dokunemon!"

Mike ran after him hoping to prevent his friend from being crushed by debris.

**Plasma Bolt**

Bakemon suddenly vanished just before the attack would have struck and the blast slammed into the sidewalk spewing up chunks of hot concrete.

**Ghost Chop**

Suddenly reappearing from behind Bakemon chopped at Tech sending him into a nearby wall, hard.

Commandramon blasted away with his assault rifle but Bakemon simply blocked the bullets with his palm and used his other hand to slap him aside.

Now Bakemon lunged forward and pinned Xander and Jeff to the pavement with his large disgusting hands.

Soulmon cackled long and loud.

"The end is now humans!"

Commandramon staggered to his feet hurt but not tired. He saw Bakemon pinning Jeff and Xander ready to finish them off. Visions of comrades being killed in front of him all the while he had been powerless to stop it, unable to do anything.

"Not again", he grunted. "I'm not letting it end like this again."

Suddenly a bright light surrounded him forcing Bakemon and Soulmon to pause and check to see what was happening.

**Commandramon Digivolve too: Sealsdramon**

The light faded and a shape instantly bolted forward and slammed into Bakemon at incredible speed. One would have missed it if they had blinked.

From their position across the street Mike and the unburied Dokunemon watched the turn in the tide of battle unfold. Mike brought out the analyzer and read out loud.

"**Sealsdramon: Cyborg digimon. He's so fast that his two techniques 'Monoeye' and 'Assassination' are all he needs to bring down digimon many times his size."**

Sealsdramon was much larger than Commandramon by at least two or three times. His face was covered by a mask with a red mechanical sensor over the right eye and he had two blade sticking out of his shoulders and one at the end of his full armored tail.

Bakemon recovered and disappeared again before quickly reappearing right behind Sealsdramon.

**Ghost Chop**

He chopped at Sealsdramon but the rotten hand passed through nothing but air.

Bakemon was suddenly slammed from behind and knocked into a wall and just barely dodged Sealsdramon's follow-up attack.

Jeff and Xander stood up and looked on in amazement.Sealsdramon was now single handedly smashing the enlarged ghost into wall on the ground anywhere. Bakemon simply could not get away.

**Hells Hand**

Bakemon tried to hit his lightning fast opponent but once again Sealsdramon was too fast and somersaulted over him.

"Now it's your end", he said.

**Assasination**

Sealsdramon brandished a knife and shoved into her enemy. Bakemon shrieked out like a tormented soul and dissolved into data leaving the battleground quiet once again.

Panicking Soulmon decided to leave.

"You haven't seen the last of me!", he declared.

He turned around and suddenly was skewered by a golden spear.

"I think we've seen the last of you", Tech said coldly.

At last the final opponent vanished into particles of data that soon evaporated into the air.

The group all gathered together and congratulated their savior.

"That was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen!", Jeff exclaimed.

"You rocked", Mike added.

"Ah that was simple", Seasldramon said confidently. "I could've beaten that oversized bed sheet in my sleep."

The wailing of sirens caught their attention.

"We gotta' get outta' here fast!" Xander yelled.

"Climb on", Sealsdramon directed. He grabbed Jeff in one arm, he grabbed Mike who was also holding Dokunemon in the other and Xander and Tech climbed onto his back.

"Hold tight."

Even with the extra weight Sealsdramon sped through the back alleys and streets putting as much distance between them and the scene as possible.

After about a travelling at least two kilometers Sealsdramon stopped and let everyone off.

"Just let me catch a quick breather here and I'll take everyone the rest of the way to Alice's."

"Actually I'm good here."

Everyone else stared at Xander.

"I have a place I need to go to. I might be able to find out some more information."

Mike and Jeff sighed.

"Whatever."

Sealsdramon picked up Jeff, Mike and Dokunemon and sped away towards Transcona.

"Another less scrupulous acquaintance of yours?" Tech inquired.

Xander smirked.

"Yes but I assure you far more pleasant than the ones you've seen thus far. You might even like her."

Tech paused for a moment.

"Is this that 'Noir' girl that was mentioned so much?"

Xander laughed.

"No, no, but she is a friend of ours. Don't worry you'll meet her someday."

Sighing Tech followed his Tamer as they trekked once again through the filthy and shady back alleyways of the inner city. Realizing that despite their bond so much of him was a mystery.


	21. Allies

Tamers West

Chapter 21:Allies

The Master and Darwin returned to the laboratory where Elle lay unconscious on the table her skin flushed red as her blood worked hard to distribute the flood of fluids and material that had recently been injected into her body.

Around the table sat trays filled with used syringes and empty bottles shining in the white light of the lab. The cleanest room in the building there was not a trace of dirt or grime despite its actual age though many parts of it were covered in plastic.

"Thank you for your services doctor", Darwin said pleasantly.

The doctor didn't reply. He simply pulled off his rubber gloves and left the room. They paid him no mind.

Four Bakemon entered and worked together to pick up Elle.

"Bring her to the basement with that other thing", The Master ordered."And be careful she's valuable."

Wordlessly the Bakemon obeyed and carried Elle out of the room to the basement.

"Boss Boss!", someone shouted from down the hall. A small scrawny man ran into the room in a near panic.

"It's bad Boss! The factory's been leveled!"

"What!"

"I just saw a news report, the whole factory's been flattened! There's nothing left!"

Darwin staggered back a few steps.

"How? Those small time gangs couldn't have leveled a building like that! Even if they all worked together they wouldn't be able to do it without us noticing, and all the Bakemon there would have stopped them!"

"Leave this to me." The Master said coolly."I'll find out what happened. You just worry about keeping the operation going."

The Master walked past the small man and out of the room with purpose. No human could have accomplished that deed. That left only one other possibility.

A cold grin spread across The Master's features.

"This might actually be fun."

"Whew I feel like I ran halfway around the world." Commandramon said as he sat on the cool floor of the McCoy's garage.

After carrying everyone the rest of the way there he dedigivolved. They had reached the home just after the others had arrived in the car.

Mr. McCoy had told them to go to the garage where he could scan their unconscious new associate. The other digimon watched intently as Dr. McCoy used his laptop and another device to scan its unconscious form.

"I'm amazed how fast you were!", Richard exclaimed to the cyborg. "You almost beat us here!"

Commandramon grinned.

"That's the power of digivolution. I can't believe I finally did it!"

"Is it hard?"

"For digimon it is one of the hardest goals to reach cause most end up dead before they reach champion level."

"Champion level?"

"It's one of the levels of digivolution", Alice explained. "Right now he's at the rookies stage but Sealsdramon is a champion level."

Richard scratched his head.

"This sure is complicated; right Hans?"

Hans however was not paying attention to him or the conversation. He was totally fixated on Dr. McCoy and the dinosaur like creature lying on the floor. He seemed worried, as though he was waiting for the prognosis on his favorite pet.

Richard sighed. Hans had always been an enigma, and it didn't look like there was even a remote chance of that changing for the foreseeable future.

Finally Dr. McCoy set down the scanner and began looking at the data on the laptop.

"How's it look doc?" Jeff asked.

Dr. McCoy frowned.

"I'm not really sure. There some strange anomaly. I'm not sure what it is. I'll need to run some more tests."

"That might take a while doc. I don't think he's in any condition to write anything at the moment", Mike joked."

"This is serious", Jeff chided him. "That anomaly could be what made him so dangerous!"

Mike held up his hands in defense.

"Hey I was only trying to lighten the mood. Air's to heavy in here."

"Then find another room", Jeff suggested.

Mike rolled his eyes and looked over at the woman who had brought them.

Amy stood in the corner wary of the beast that lay on the floor but also intensely curious. She watched everything going on in the garage with interest.

The heavy silence in the room was suddenly broken as Mike stepped towards her and asked:

"So what were you doing out in that part of town. You seemed a bit too upper crust to be hanging around there."

She stood there a moment, trying to decide what to tell them, or if she would tell them at all.

"I was going to investigate the ghosts in the factory", she replied. "I didn't expect to almost be burned alive by some digital Godzilla."

"It wasn't his fault!", Hans yelled.

Everyone turned to look at them but he didn't return their gaze. He kept his eyes focused on "Godzilla".

"Now what were you kids doing there?" Amy asked.

"We were looking for clues about where Elle might have been taken", Jeff responded.

This got her full attention.

"What? What did you find?"

Alice reached into her purse and pulled out one of each of the bags they had found.

Amy walked over to her, giving the Black Augumon a wide birth and looked closely at the contents of the bags.

"This is exactly what I found."

Now everyone's attention was on her.

"Found where!", Jeff asked desperately.

"Uh, um, I meant the police found bags just like that at that adult entertainment store where that big murder took place."

There were looks of puzzlement on the children's faces, wondering what the connection was between this and one of the biggest murders in years?

"If we could find out who they sold them to then maybe we could find where Elle is!", Jeff exclaimed.

"That's assuming a lot", Richard pointed out. "That would be assuming that the store was their only customer which considering the size of the factory I'd doubt, and that the people we're looking for our customers rather than the people who run the factory in the first place."

Jeff scowled but had to concede his point. They just didn't have enough clues.

"If we need more clues", Amy said. "Then we should find out just what's in these bags."

"How?" Mike asked. "We don't know anything about drugs."

"I know a pharmacist who can help. From there she might be able to give us someone we can contact to get more info."

"Sounds like a good place to start", Jeff agreed. "It's our only lead."

"We should probably wait for Xander before we do anything," Mike quipped. "He hates being left out of the fun."

It was then that Alice brought up something that had been bothering her since they arrived.

"Where is Xander?"

Jeff shrugged.

"He asked to be dropped off somewhere downtown after we ditched the cops."

"What? Why?"

Mike sighed.

"With him; who knows?"

There was much activity in the area. They could hear the sounds of heavy traffic echoing off the walls. However on the street on which they were walking it was completely devoid of any activity.

It was amazing that so close to one of the city's busiest sectors this area would be so dead.

Not a single car was present not even parked along the street. The buildings were old ware houses or closed down businesses that had been boarded up. Or the back of buildings that faced the busier streets.

Tech walked beside his tamer rather than on the roofs like before. Xander said that no one would take notice. Would no one really notice a short person wearing a large cloak and wide brimmed hat and carrying a scepter? Or was is it simply that there was no one around to see him.

"Here we are."

The building Xander was leading them to was unlike most of the other buildings on the street. While it was basically the same colour brick as the others(a rusty brown) it lacked the abundant plywood covered windows, instead it only had a few windows on the front of the building and a small circular porthole window on the second floor facing the street. Finally a wooden sign with "Greg's Diner" in large red faded letters hung on the wall.

It seemed less unscrupulous than the bar they went to the other day, it actually looked rather quaint.

"She's in there. You can come inside, no one will pay attention to you."

Tech wasn't so sure that was such a good idea but on the other hand he really did want to go inside rather than stay out on the roof like always. Come to think of it the only buildings he had been inside since coming to the real world were Xander's house, the McCoy's house and the factory from today.

They entered the building triggering a bell as they opened the door, startling Tech slightly. This was a new experience for him. Walking into an establishment as if a normal resident of this world.

The inside of the dinner was rather dark with most of the illumination coming from old wall mounted lights and a pair of ceiling fans; plus the natural light coming from the windows on the front of the building. The diner was rustic to say the least.

Wooden chairs and small wooden circular tables a picnic bench and a booth that was clearly from another restaurant served as the seating for the diner. It was becoming more and more similar to the bar.

Xander lead them to the stainless steel counter in front of the kitchen where there was a cash register on the right side and a blackboard with the menu written out in green chalk on the left.

"I'm coming", a voice called from the back of the kitchen.

A woman came out from the kitchen and to the counter. Her matted brown hair was tied up in a bun and covered by a hair net. Overtop her grey shirt and sweat pants she wore a badly stained apron. Unlike the dinner her face was youthful though a bit tired. She looked surprised to see them without even making eye contact with Tech.

"Zander! Haven't seen you for a while."

"Hello Miranda. Sorry I haven't visited for a while but school just started again."

"Yeah I guess. I haven't seen Noir around either."

There was that name again.

"She's having some problems at home right now."

Miranda's features formed into an amused grin.

"Well let's be honest she isn't the most well behaved girl."

"Speaking of which where's Elsa?"

Miranda sighed.

"She's probably sleeping. She was up all night again doing who knows what."

"I'll get her up", Xander said as he headed around the kitchen.

"Suit yourself", Miranda said.

As Xander walked up the stairs to the second floor Miranda turned to look at Tech.

"So what's your story?"

Tech paused. He wasn't sure what to say. He had never spoken to a human outside their group. What was he supposed to say?

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand the question."

"Why are you hanging around with Zander?"

He paused again and considered a way to answer without giving up the fact that he was a digimon.

"We're looking for clue's towards Elle's disappearance", he answered at last.

Of course there was no guarantee that Miranda knew Elle or even if she was missing, but the somber expression on her face revealed that she was well aware of both.

"Yeah; heard about that. Poor girl, she deserves to be treated so much better."

Tech leaned forward slightly.

"She has a history with this?"

Miranda snorted and sat down on a stool behind the desk.

"Pedophiles go crazy for her. Everyone says it's like she's been cursed. She's always been very pretty and she's the sweetest girl I've ever met. She's like an older sister to my Elsa."

Her eyes became distant and wistful. No doubt she was reliving fond memories of Elle as she tried to cope with the harsh reality of the girl's current situation.

"Have you found out anything?"

Tech sighed.

"Only a drug and the factory where they make them."

"What's drugs got to do with her kidnapping?", Miranda asked.

"An orange drug tablet was found where we believe Elle to have been kidnapped."

Miranda frowned.

"That could have just been a drug tablet someone dropped. You don't know that it belonged to the kidnappers."

"It's all we have", Tech said firmly.

Now it was Miranda's turn to sigh.

"I guess doing something is better than doing nothing."

Tech could only nod in agreement. He had nothing to add."

Xander marched up the old hardwood steps onto the second floor of the restaurant where Miranda and her daughter Elsa actually lived.

He walked down the hall on a familiar path to the door at the very end. and knocked.

"Elsa are you awake?"

There was no reply. He didn't expect one though; what little sleep Elsa got was deep indeed.

He grasped the door handle then slowly and silently opened the door.

He braced himself as the wave of warm dry air and the smell of unwashed clothes that were strewn about the room.

Illuminating the room was the single porthole window that they had seen outside and the lights coming from the numerous computers and electronics that were set up throughout the room generating a constant humming.

In one corner of the room was a desk with six monitors set up and a plush office chair that blocked the view of the three keyboards that accompanied them.

Opposite the room from him though, underneath the porthole was a bed whose lone occupant lay asleep twisted and tangled in the sheets. The legs of her green pajama pants had been rolled up almost all the way and her matching pajama shirt more than halfway to her chest.

He walked over to her bedside and looked down at her.

Despite the state of her clothes and bed her long strait black hair was relatively untangled. With her perfect pale white complexion and her only movement being the gentle rising and falling of her chest she looked like a porcelain doll, peacefully asleep.

'Maybe if I sit her up her eyes will open', Xander mused.

He leaned over and gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.

Wakey Wakey Elsa.

She remained unmoving so he tried shacking her a bit but she still remained asleep.

"Alright Elsa we'll do it the hard way."

He brought his hands down to her exposed midsection and began to tickle her.

Reflexively her hands tried to push his away as a smile broke her peaceful expression and she suddenly erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Alright, alright I'm up!", she yelled finally awake.

Xander ceased his attack and allowed her to recover.

"About, time. I thought I was going to have to resort to drastic measured."

Suddenly Elsa's face turned from one of involuntary amusement to one of horror as she realized who was in her room and she let out a small scream while frantically trying to cover herself in her sheets only to discover she was completely tangled in them.

"What are you doing in my room?" she shouted as she tried desperately to untangle herself.

"You're mom told me to wake you up; and since tickling always works so well for your mom I figured I'd use it."

Her normally pale face was now flushed a bright red.

"A guy can't just go and tickle a girl while she's asleep."

"He can if it gets results", Xander replied obnoxiously.

"What do you want?" she yelled again!

"That can wait, first I think you mother wants you downstairs."

Elsa grumbled and stood up and stretched.

"Fine, I'm hungry anyway."

Xander smirked.

"I see you're liking the PJs that Noir gave you."

Elsa's cheeks flushed again.

"Yeah, they're soft and cute but I wanted something... sexier."

Xander rolled his eyes.

"Elsa you're eleven you shouldn't even be thinking about sex appeal at your age. Besides your body hasn't matured enough yet for those types of clothes to do it any justice. You'd look terrible like those kids on that TV show."

"I'm only a year younger than you", Elsa shot back. "You don't have the right to lecture me. Besides what's wrong with wanting maturity?"

"Sex appeal and maturity are two different things Elsa", Xander said with his hand on his hips.

He gently put a hand on her head.

"Don't be so quick to grow up Elsa. Enjoy your youth while you have it".

Elsa pushed his hand away.

"You sound like my grandmother", she chided. "Besides you're the hypocrite here mister: I've had a lover since age ten."

"That's different", he insisted. "Our relationship is one of mutual attraction and Noir doesn't dress sexy in public; she's just very good at wearing clothes that suit that nymphet form of hers."

Elsa made a face.

"'Nymphet?' Is that one of your pet names for her?"

"Amongst other things", Xander replied.

"But we're getting off topic, you're supposed to be going downstairs for lunch."

Elsa grumbled but put on her slippers and followed Xander out of her room and down the stairs.

Xander could here light chatter coming from the diner below. Were Tech and Miranda having a talking to each other?

As they rounded the corner his suspicions were confirmed as he caught the two making polite conversation.

"I brought her", Xander interrupted.

The two looked at Elsa Tech with intrigue and Miranda with a parental frown.

"And what were you doing up so early last night?" she asked her daughter.

"Can't I have breakfast first Mom", Elsa groaned.

"Oh, never mind, and it's lunch time. I just made soup so hurry up and eat and get changed before the customers start coming."

Grumbling Elsa obeyed and went into the kitchen to get her lunch.

Xander smiled and shook his head.

"She's a good girl really but she needs to spend more time away from the internet."

Miranda huffed.

"It's her school that's making her like that. All the girls in her class are budding prostitutes."

Xander sighed and put some money on the counter.

"Put us down for some soup too."

Miranda smiled.

"Coming right up."

Xander took a stool beside Tech and Elsa returned with her bowl and took a seat behind the counter neat the cash register.

"So why did you actually come here?", Elsa asked. "Usually you don't visit me unless Noir is with you or unless you need me for something."

"Yes that's true", Xander admitted. "To be honest I need your help finding Elle."

Elsa paused eating and looked up at him.

"So she really is missing?"

"Kidnapped", he clarified. "And the only clue we have is that whoever took likely possessed some orange tablet like drug."

He reached into his pocket and handed it to her as Miranda returned with their soup.

Elsa held the tablet up to the light as she studied it.

"Doesn't look like any of the ones in circulation around here", she said.

"That old factory near Desrali was full of these and some grass like stuff. We weren't able to see any of the ingredients though."

"So you blew the factory up?" Elsa asked.

Xander chuckled.

"No we ran out of the building because it was going to blow up. In any case it should make the crews happy."

Elsa huffed.

"The crews won't be happy until whoever's responsible for these drugs is run out of town."

'Crews' referred to the areas resident gangs. Most of those who attended 'The Den' were members of these crews.

"At any rate if we can find out who's in charge of this stuff and what this drug does than we'll be that much closer to finding Elle. I know it's not much but it's all we got."

Elsa sighed.

"Well I have heard of kidnappers and those sick child porn bastards using drugs to keep their prisoners subdued somehow. That might be what this is."

Xander frowned.

"I'm not so sure. That table doesn't appear to be that old and there wasn't much of a smell coming from it. So it would have to be fed to them for them to be subdued by that and even if that's what that drug does why would they need a huge factory operation to make a huge supply for distribution? No this is definitely some kind of street drug."

Elsa scratched her chin.

"We'll I'll look into it. I've already been hacking some of the security cameras to find some of these guys but none of the dealers we've caught had any of the stuff."

"So all the crews are in on this?"

Elsa smirked.

"One of the few things they all agree on is that they want these guys out yesterday."

She set down the table and resumed eating her soup.

"With these new clues though I'll be able to make my searches more specific."

Xander nodded appreciatively.

"I'll be sure to keep you updated of any new clues we find."

He paused eating his soup when he noticed Elsa staring down blankly at her half empty bowl.

He reached across the counter and put a reassuring hand on her head.

"We'll find her Elsa. We'll find her."

Miranda went over and gave her daughter a gentle hug.

"That's right honey, you don't have to worry."

Elsa nodded and resumed eating her soup silently.

Xander wasn't surprised that she was taking Elle's disappearance so hard. Elle was like a big sister to her ever since Elle had volunteered her services at the restaurant to help them make ends meet back when they were struggling. In fact it was through Elle that he and Noir had met Miranda and Elsa.

"Elle had given so much to everyone around her. A bright golden light in a cold grey world; and someone was trying to take it away. Not without one hell of a fight."

Elle woke up to terrible abdominal pain clamping her eye lids tight before she even had a change to open them. She felt hot and sweaty, her heart was beating rapidly and her stomach growled hungrily.

With a great deal of effort she rolled onto her stomach which generated a jangling sound.

Frowning she pushed herself up and looked around straining to see anything in the dark room; but as she turned her head she felt something rub against her neck.

Tentatively she reached for it and her fingers grasped something that felt like leather and she realized it was wrapped snugly around her neck. She felt along it until she reached the back and felt something cold and hard. She suddenly realized that the jangling sound was that of a chain. She was tied up.

The chain was bolted to the concrete wall and as she looked around she felt more and more like a prisoner in a dungeon. The ceiling was low and there was not a single source of natural light. The only light came from the cracks in the ceiling and under the door.

The floor was just bare cement but she had a small rug to lie on. Better than nothing she supposed but she still wondered what she was doing here.

A low growl emanated from her stomach and echoed through the room showing just how empty it was.

At that moment the door swung wide open forcing her to shield her eyes from the intense light.

She heard a light clunk in front of her and a few similar clunks from other parts of the room. Just as her eyes finally started to adjust a few blurry figures exited the room and shut the door behind them returning the room to darkness.

Elle blinked as her eyes worked to readjust themselves and then tried to investigate what they had dropped in front of her.

Still blind she reached out with her hands and came into contact with something metallic and she was surprised when she recognized it as a large metal bowl, not unlike what she would use to make cookies. Despite not being able to see it she knew without a doubt that was what it was. The thought stirred up her growing hunger which drove her to check if something was in the bowl.

Tentatively she reached her hand into the bowl and felt a familiar sensation. It was dough, bread dough it felt like.

She pulled out a small handful and using what amount of sight had returned analyzed it.

She couldn't see what colour it was but the overall look, the texture, the way it broke apart was the same. The smell was odd, a bit bitter even and the tast...

"ugh"

It had the taste and texture of saw dust. But from the smacking and sloppy sounds coming from other parts of the room it was clearly edible and her blazing hunger would not let her refuse it.

She shoved what she had in her hand into her mouth and almost gagged but hurriedly swallowed the portion. It was surprisingly moist despite the taste and it felt so good as it fell into her barren stomach. Compared to what she had been eating since she got here it was so much more satisfying.

She stuck her hand into the bowl and shoveled handful after handful into her mouth so fast she nearly gagged again and warily slowed her pace slowly but surely satisfying her hunger. She kept going until her fingers were merely scrapping the bowl.

Satisfied she sat down and let out a heavy sigh. Without her hunger nagging at her mind she was able to think and properly analyze her surroundings.

Her eyes now properly adjusted she could see other people in the room each chained to the wall like she was.

They had all finished or nearly finished their own bowls, she could only make out their vague shapes in the darkness. She couldn't really tell what they looked like.

Elle stiffened when she heard a noise and turned to see the small silhouette of someone just in front of her closer to the door.

It was lying down on its face moaning softly as it slowly tried to move towards her.

"Hey, are you okay?", Elle asked gently.

A pair of dark pink eyes looked back at her, desperate, pleading. It broke her heart to see such eyes.

Elle suddenly realized that unlike everyone else this person didn't have a bowl. It was starving!

A wave of shame and self loathing washed over Elle as she realized she had made a pig of herself in front of this poor starving...

Elle was suddenly aware of the odd shape of the form. For one thing it was so small and yet it had large... ears? Was this some kind of outfit?

Elle grabbed her bowl and sent it skidding along the ground up to the small form.

"If you lick the bowl you should be able to get something."

The pink eyes looked at the large bowl for a moment then looked back at her and seemed to smile. Then the small figure tipped the bowl over and started licking.

Elle tugged at her own clothes. The thin fabric of the simple clothing she had been given clung to her hot sweaty skin.

Swallowing she moved off the rug and cautiously sat her bottom on the cool concrete floor. She hissed as the cold floor sent a shock through her system but relaxed as it dissipated. She felt vulnerable without any panties under her already tiny skirt but at least the rag-like shirt was able to cover her chest properly but it didn't even have sleeves that she instinctively tried to roll up.

There was a small metallic clang as the metal bowl settled down on its base. The little thing had licked the bowl clean.

Elle hoped it was able to get some energy from what has left in the bowl.

A moment later the door opened forcing everyone to shield their eyes once more.

This time a single figure came in the footsteps of hard soled shoes clacking against the concrete floor.

Whoever it was began collecting all of the bowls until she got to Elle.

"So they did send you here."

Elle recognized that voice.

"Lolita?"

Squinting Elle could see the icy haired girl sanding above her carrying the bowls in a black maid uniform.

The uniform showed off most of her back and had only a short skirt. She word long black stockings black dressy shoes on her little feet. The top was mostly covered by the frilly white apron which was of normal length and short sleeves and the classic headband completed the ensample.

Elle suddenly understood why no one envied Lolita's so called freedom. If anything it was a worse fate.

"What do you mean? Where am I?"

Lolita sighed.

"This is where they put all their... experiments."

Elle didn't like the sound of that.

"Experiments?"

Lolita stepped out of the way to let Elle see the others and it was not a pleasant sight.

There was one girl who looked only nine years old her eyes were dark red and her skin was deathly pale though part of that was no doubt attributed to being kept in this dark room.

Another appeared to be as tall as a sixteen year old girl, yet her proportions were that of someone about nine or ten.

Another looked six or seven but had an ample pair of breasts. It looked so wrong, so demented.

"I don't know what they're planning for you", Lolita went on. "But I do know they've been waiting for you for a long time. You're they're big new money making scheme."

Elle scowled then looked over at the small creature she had sent the bowl to and was shocked.

The creature was a small pink rabbit like creature with two round floppy ears and then two smaller perky ears on the top of her head. Her body ended in a strange gown like ruffle and there were yellow crescent shapes all over her body.

"I don't know what that thing is", Lolita said. "All I know is that it's a similar kind of creature to those ghost things."

"It's a digimon", Elle replied calmly. They're not from this world."

Lolita raised an eyebrow.

"Oh is that what they're called?"

She picked up the last bowl and headed for the door.

As Lolita walked away Elle noticed something on her back. A strange marking which appeared to be a hollow circle with six stubby spokes jutting out of it at even intervals. Within the circle was a crescent shape taking up half the area and in the other half there was a trio of interconnecting rings.

Before she could ask about it Lolita closed the door plunging the room into darkness once again.

Sighing Elle turned towards the digimon and asked:

"What's your name?"

The digimon paused for a moment and then answered in a soft quiet voice.

"Lunamon."


	22. Questions and Answers

Tamers West

Chapter 22:Questions and Answers

Dr. McCoy frowned as he looked over the new data as it appeared on the screen of his laptop. The Black Augumon was still unconscious and still, yet there was a degree of insecurity about it even in this weakened state; the feeling that at any moment it would wake up and attack in an uncontrollable rage.

As some of the kids discussed things with Amy he tried to analyze and isolate the anomaly that caused this poor creature to be so dangerous. If he couldn't then its fate was grim indeed.

The main problem was that he didn't have much of a base to work from. Something looking like an anomaly in his data might actually be one of his attacks or some special ability. Frankly he didn't know exactly what to look for.

The one boy Hans had stayed at the digimon's side the whole time. Steady, determined, vigilant. Apparently he was the one responsible for calming the beast after it had appeared. A remarkable feat. Though he wondered why did the digimon calm down so easily? Why did it even listen to him at all?

Then the idea hit him. What if that was part of the anomaly? What if Hans had triggered something that allowed the digimon to back control of itself.

Dolphin shifted back through all the data, looking for a link to where a digimon's behavior was controlled, at its core.

'Found it', indeed there it was; the data that connected a digimon's body to its core, it's very essence. Within the data he found several lines of code that possessed strange conditions, and overrides. The anomaly didn't just add new lines of code it altered the original code; and without knowing the original code one couldn't correct the corruption. That wasn't good.

"How is it Grandpa?"

Dolphin just couldn't look his granddaughter in the eye. He knew that she had also been holding out hope that the poor creature could be saved.

It reminded him all too well of when their dog died. Alice had been a tender five years of age when their dog was struck by a car in front of her very eyes.

Oh how she wailed, it took her weeks to get over the shock. She had always been a sensitive girl.

"There's nothing I can do", he said finally. "His very core has been tainted."

A heavy silence fell over the garage; and the undeniable question that everyone was asking was: 'what now?'

"He can control it", Hans said breaking the silence. "He's done it before, and I can help him!"

Dolphin sighed

"I'm not that's-

"Then he's your responsibility."

Everyone looked at her in utter bewilderment.

"What? Just like that?" Jeff asked aghast.

"Hans is this digimon's partner", Alice said pointing to the blonde boy's digivice. "This is why we're called tamers or have you forgotten that?"

The other tamers were silent.

"Our partners never tried to kill us", Jeff finally countered.

Hans was about to inject a counter of his own but Alice beat him to it.

"Your partners weren't infected by a virus! I think the fact that it stopped at all shows a lot of inner strength. Let's not forget how hard a fight it would have been if it hadn't." She let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"This digimon isn't evil and doesn't deserve to be treated like it. You guys haven't seen what I have. The digimon we've fought up to now are kittens compared to what's out there. We need as many friends and Allies as we can get and we're not going to accomplish that by being inflexible right?"

The others were silent, and rather ashamed.

"Right", they answered back.

Alice let out a breath to calm down. Her cheeks were flushed from her speech. Xiaomon rubbed against her leg offering her comfort.

Dolphin was surprised. Alice was normally such a quiet and reserved girl one could even describe her as meek. Such a spirited outburst was very uncharacteristic. But then even she would have her limits. She was nearly a teenager after all.

"Thank you Alice."

Alice blushed as the normally stoic Hans smiled at her.

"Maybe you can show me how this works then?" He asked presenting his digivice.

Alice reached into her purse and pulled out her own digivice to help show him.

"Well there's not much to-"

Suddenly a familiar white beam shot out of Hans' digivice and hit Alice's. Her digivice glowed for a moment and then shot out beams to the other tamers digivices causing them to glow as well.

Hans' digivice stretched out to accommodate a widescreen format and became thinner. The only change to everyone else's was that an antenna was now attached to the side.

"Wh-what happened?", Richard asked bewildered.

"Alice's digivice can copy the abilities of everyone else's digivice and then transform ours to match", Mike explained.

Jeff opened the holographic menu on his digivice to check what might have changed.

"Cool I got a map and GPS app."

"That's it!", Mike yelled.

"What?", Jeff asked.

"Remember when we were wondering what to call our digivices?"

Jeff shrugged.

"I guess. You come up with a name?"

Mike nodded grinning.

"We'll call it the D-App."

Jeff paused.

"D-App?"

"Yeah, you know we got a web browser app from Xander, a music app from you, a PC app from me, a card reader app from Alice, and now a map and GPS app from Hans."

Dolphin nodded.

"I see. Basically it applies the unique features of everyone's digivices."

"But why name it anything at all?", Richard asked. "What's wrong with just 'digivice'?

"D-App's a lot easier to say in conversation", Mike replied.

"Oh, right."

A deep groaning sound interrupted the conversation and the black digimon laying on the floor twitched putting everyone on edge. It was waking up.

Commandramon stood to his feet and grabbed his rifle, Dokunemon stood off to the side ready to act should the need arise.

By contrast Hans who was closest to it remained perfectly calm.

Slowly the creature opened its eyes and the tension in the room mounted.

"Are you all right?", Hans asked gently.

He groaned again before answering.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Hans. Who are you?"

"B-Bl-Black Agumon."

Black Agumon tried to push himself up onto his feet but was struggling.

Tentatively Hans grabbed his arm and helped pull him to his feet.

Black Agumon just stared at him quizzically, as if Hans was behaving strangely.

Once on his feet he looked around at everyone else. They were all watching him, curious but aware.

"Where am I?"

"You're safe", Hans assured him. "We aren't here to hurt you. We just want to help you."

Black Agumon eyed them all with a hint of suspicion.

Dokunemon spoke up to alleviate his concerns.

"If you are concerned about any prejudice because you are a dark digimon you needn't. There is already one in our group."

Black Agumon stared at the small larva digimon.

"But what is this group?"

Everyone looked blank. Really they never had a name as a group and calling themselves tamers didn't really apply to half of the group.

"We don't really have a name", Jeff answered but our objective right now is looking for a friend who was kidnapped."

That seemed to strike a chord with Black Agumon as the exhaustion in his vanished and was replaced with a kind of urgency.

"You've lost someone too?"

They looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?", Dokunemon asked.

Black Agumon's expression turned sober.

"When I was in the digital world I had a companion-Lunamon. She was the first other being I had ever encountered who didn't judge me merely because I was a dark digimon.

"One day we were walking through the badlands when we were suddenly approached by a Soulmon. He offered us a chance to go to the real world if we agreed to work for his master."

"I know that in retrospect it sounds foolish but we were desperate. In the badlands you're alone and vulnerable. For those of us who are not accepted in the zones going to the real world was the only potentially safe place."

The other digimon wore sympathetic expressions. They seemed to know firsthand exactly what Black Agumon was talking about.

"But when we arrived he was disappointed with my lack of aggression and so he cursed me and then sealed me away. I don't know what happened to Lunamon. We were separated shortly after arriving."

Jeff approached him.

"This place you were taken in our world... would you be able to show us where it is?"

Dark Agumon shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry. I was only there for a short time and saw none of the outside before I was sealed.

Mike thought for a moment.

"So does that mean you didn't become Dark Tyranomon until after you came to the real world?"

He nodded.

"Yes, after I was cursed it forced me to begin digivolving but before I could finish I was sealed and did not complete it until you found me. For all I know a similar or worse fate may have befallen Lunamon."

Black Agumon stiffened as he felt something rub against his leg. He looked down to see Xiamon rubbing against him affectionately.

Alice came to him and said:

"It could be that the same ones responsible for what happened to you and Lunamon might also be responsible for what happened to our friend. If you're willing to work together with us then we can rescue them both together."

"But why exactly would a digimon want to kidnap a human?", Mike asked out loud. "What would they have to gain from it?"

Commandramon snorted.

"There's no mystery there. For as long as I can remember there have been stories of humans giving digimon the power to digivolve; and digivolving is the goal all digimon live for, even in the zones."

"What are these zones?", Richard asked.

Before any of the digimon could answer Dolphin decided to interrupt.

"Maybe that's a topic best left until everyone is present. Right now I think it's best for all of you to get home for lunch before your parents get worried."

Everyone seemed to agree, and anyway they hadn't heard anything from Xander who was still MIA.

Hans gently grabbed Black Agumon's arm.

"You can come home with me."

"You'll need to hide him somehow", Mike told him. "Unless you want to attract a lot of unwanted attention."

Alice grabbed a blue rain poncho from a hook on the wall and tossed it to Hans.

"You can use that. It's not very inconspicuous I know but it's better than nothing."

"It'll do", Hans said as he worked to get Black Agumon into the poncho.

"Sorry, please put up with it for now", he told the black dino.

"I'll manage", he replied.

With that done everyone began to file out of the garage and taking their respective 'secret' routes home.

Amy sighed.

"Well I guess that's it for me to until I get word back from my Pharmacist friend. Don't worry I won't tell anyone about this but only because I don't want anything to happen to the kids."

Dolphin smiled.

"Very considerate of you."

Amy hadn't mentioned it but Dolphin knew from years of experience that Amy was a reporter or at least someone who worked in an investigative capacity.

During her time among them she had stuck mostly to the background minus the discussion about Elle. He saw looking through her eyes the calculated absorption of information as everyone talked. She didn't pry into anything really but of course she wouldn't, at least not till she gained their trust.

The unfortunate truth was that now with her involved his hand was a bit forced. A reporter could spell trouble if she suddenly turned against them for the sake of a story, something he'd seen all too often in California.

He sighed inwardly as she left. There wasn't much choice now. He would likely have to inform McKay. He could only hope that he would be able to see things from their point of view. For the children's sake.

Xander and Tech stood on either side of Elsa as she sat in her chair typing as series of memorized commands with superhuman speed.

"I've checked all the usual sources", Elsa said as she continued through pages of digital information.

"There's nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever these drugs are made out of it's not the usual stuff."

"Kay then there's nothing on the drug front at the moment that we can track. Any new trends in the less honorable channels?"

Xander was referring to the child pornography dealers and websites. Such sites didn't appear on google searches(or at least not very often) one had to know the exact web address and the code to get in and Elsa was the only person in the whole province who could hack her way in with any regularity.

"One of my clients had me check the sites yesterday for some other girls. I guess a lot have gone missing over the last couple months. I didn't see anything different except something they wrote about making the wildest fantasies a reality. But that just sounds like marketing to me."

Xander crossed his arms. There had to be another angle, something they hadn't considered.

"What if we're wrong?"

Elsa blinked in confusion.

"huh?"

"What if Elle wasn't taken for the porn aspect? What if they wanted her for something else?"

"Like what?"

Xander looked at her with a calm but resolute expression, not unlike a detective might have.

"Tell me Elsa; what would you say were Elle's best genetic traits?"

Elsa looked confused but brought a finger up to her chin thoughtfully.

"Well she's pretty, maternal, no allergies, good metabolism, even skin tones..."

Elsa's voice trailed off and her eyes widened as she realized what Xander was thinking.

"Breeding?"

Xander nodded solemnly.

"That's my guess. Otherwise they would have had a girl like Elle all over the sites the day she disappeared."

With renewed vigor and purpose Elsa changed her search and began searching more legitimate sources.

Whilst she searched Tech found it necessary to ask.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what's going on."

Xander had to be careful how he answered; he didn't want to reveal to Elsa-at least not yet; that Tech was a digimon.

"Breeding: The activity of controlling the mating and production of offspring. In other words: making babies through science and selection."

Tech paused for a moment to absorb and interpret this information. Words like: 'mating and offspring' were rather foreign to a digimon. Xander's explanation and the residual knowledge he got from his tamer only gave him a simple understanding.

"But why would they want to do that?"

"Lots of reasons", Elsa said. "Sex dolls, designer children, modifications to apply to fetishes, even soldiers. The list is endless."

Through their bond Tech could feel Xander's anger and frustration building behind his calm exterior.

"I found something", Elsa announced.

Tech and Xander leaned in to get a better look at the screen.

"Montague Genetics in France has been experimenting with this kind of stuff since the second world war and sheltered many Nazi scientists from the authorities for years in return for working at their research facility."

"Do I need to ask what kind of work was done?"

"Genetic manipulation, research, experiments you name it.

"Anyway; in the late 80's they got caught by the government doing all this stuff and they got out of it by saying that it was all public research."

"No one would believe that?", Xander said.

Elsa nodded.

"Right but the French government was interested in their work and my guess is they made a deal to overlook the past secret research but in order to legitimize it they had to publish papers on it all."

"Papers? As in medical journals?"

"All kinds of stuff like that", Elsa answered.

"A lot of modern cosmetic surgery techniques were developed there and they are the world leader in research for making designer babies."

Xander scowled.

"Research that requires test subjects."

"Could they be the ones responsible for Elle's disappearance?"

Elsa shook her head.

"I doubt it. There's plenty of 'test subjects' available in Europe they don't need to come all the way over here." More like someone's trying to cash in and supply illegally what even Montague can't legally."

"There's always been a market for that kind of stuff", Xander scowled.

"Elsa find those papers and E-mail them to me. Tech; we need to meet up with the others."

As they left Elsa's expression saddened.

"Sure, okay."

As she slowly began her search she failed to hear footsteps approach her again.

She froze as she felt a warm hand gently hold the left side of her face and someone tenderly kiss her other cheek.

"Thank for your help Elsa", Xander whispered softly in her ear. "I'll bring you a treat sometime."

As he left, Elsa's white porcelain face became dark red and her lips quivered, her eyes wide and her body frozen in shock.

She reached out for a nearby pillow and buried her face in it in embarrassment.

"Wh-who does he think he is."

The wind had died down considerably since the tamers continued their walk to the data point. It made the long walk that much more bearable though Kazu and Kenta continued to complain.

What worried some of the more experienced members of the group was that they hadn't encountered a single soul since they had left and it had everyone on edge.

The only comfort they had was that the data point from which they could get home was now in sight. Even in the daylight of the digital world a beam of light could be seen projected from within a circle of tall rock formations not unlike where they had spent the night.

Since they were so close they decided to keep going rather than stop and rest for a while, much to the displeasure of Kazu and Kenta who dragged their feet at the rear.

Henry and Ryo were particularly alert, tense even as they surveyed the land around them.

"Momentai Henry", Gummymon said. "We're almost there now. Everything's cool."

"Which means that this is the most likely point something will happen."

"You worry too much", his partner replied.

While the two continued their familiar argument Rika noticed that Jeri had been especially quiet even as Calumon bounced along happily in front of her.

True she hadn't exactly had much to say the whole trip but now she walked along as if on autopilot her mind elsewhere.

Rika walked up beside her and saw the distant almost blank look in her eyes. She was definitely thinking about something.

"Everything okay Jeri?"

Jeri took a second to realize someone was speaking to her and then looked at Rika.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I'm just thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

Jeri looked away.

"Aw come on Jeri we're the only girls in this group besides Ai and she's just a kid."

Jeri sighed.

"Have you ever... had another voice in your head?"

Rika blinked.

"Are you talking about your puppet?"

Jeri sighed again.

"Never mind."

"Aw come on Jeri don't be like that."

Suddenly Cyberdramon started growling grabbing everyone's attention.

"What is it?", Ryo asked.

"Something's nearby", Cyberdramon hissed. Then he pointed to a large rock face that was more like a small mountain. "Behind there."

Henry narrowed his eyes and stared at the rock formation that hid the threat.

"An ambush? Could it be those two from yesterday?"

"No", Cyberdramon said. "There's only one, but its big."

"I'll go look!", Calumon said enthusiastically.

"No Calumon!" Jeri called. "Don't."

But it was too late; Calumon was already halfway to the rocks.

Cyberdramon took off as well ready to fight whoever it was that lurked behind the rocks.

The others somewhat reluctantly followed.

"Why didn't anyone ever teach Calumon not to talk to strangers?" Kenta said.

Calumon stopped as he peered around the rock and then started waving.

"Hurry guys over here. This guy's really hurt!"

Fear and urgency was now replaced with curiosity and caution.

Together they rounded the corner and were shocked at what they saw.

First the size of the digimon was huge. Nearly the scale of a Whamon it was round with a long pointed nose. It's body seemed to be made of red brown metal but on its exposed side a more canvas like material seemed to make up its body.

Henry brought out his D-Arc and scanned it.

"Blimpmon, a giant flying machine digimon. He can rain fire from the sky with his Zepplin Explosion and Helium Bomb attacks."

"I don't think he'll be attacking anyone from any altitude in the shape he's in", Rika observed.

Scorch marks and dents were present all over its body, and it was quite dirty.

"Man this guy looks like he got shot down", Kazu said.

"We should help him", Henry said.

"But how are we going to help a digimon that big?", Takato asked.

He raised a good point; this digimon was massive and they had no idea if it would be friendly or not when it woke up. It's massive arms would definitely hurt if they connected.

"We can't just leave him", Henry said. "Besides maybe he can tell us something."

"Like what?", Kenta asked.

"The digital world has changed a lot since we were here last", Ryo said. "Maybe he can tell us what's changed. After all I don't expect a world that was ravaged by the D-Reaper to be the same afterwards."

"But we haven't even seen any data packets since yesterday", Jeri said. "And to help someone as big as him we need a lot."

Kenta grinned.

"Looks like it's my time to shine."

He pulled out a card and primed it in the slot of his digivice.

"Ready pal?", he asked his partner.

Marineangemon nodded and floated over to the unmoving Blimpmon.

**Digimodify: Breath of Life Activate**

Marineangemon's normal wave of hearts became a torrent, streaming out over Blimpmon's body covering it almost completely. Suddenly a bright rosy glow emanated from them blinding everyone.

As the glow began to subside a loud mechanical groan was heard and the Blimpmon began to shift off its side.

Everyone moved back as the Blimpmon pushed itself right side up and propped on its large arms now towering over them.

"Who are you?", it asked in a deep tinny voice.

Summoning his courage Henry answered.

"We're from the real world. We were just passing through when we found you here."

"I see. Well I have to thank you for helping me, I thought I was a goner once I crashed here in the wastelands. If there's some way I can repay you I'd be glad to help."

Everyone smiled knowing exactly what they wanted.

"If you could give us a lift to that beacon over there that'd be great", Henry said.

"Oh is that all? Sure I'd be glad to I have plenty of room in my hold. Just don't touch anything okay."

A hiss sounded and a ramp dropped in between its arms inviting them in.

Happily everyone boarded the ramp, glad to get a restful ride the rest of the way to the beacon.

"Hold one everyone", Blimpmon called as exhaust burst from the pipes on his head and his props began spinning.

"I hope I don't get airsick", Kenta said worriedly.

Once they reached a comfortable altitude and were on course Henry asked the most obvious question.

"So how did you end up there like that Blimpmon."

"Oh that yes. Well I was part of a convoy flying over the badlands when we were attacked by flying bandits. During the attack I was knocked out of formation and into a data stream. After that I crashed here and... well... you know the rest."

"Wow tough break", Kazu commented.

"What are the badlands?", Takato asked.

"The remnants of the old digital world", Blimpmon answered.

"When the chaos was defeated the data that it had absorbed was reformatted and the digital world was restored. But the data that hadn't been restored because the chaos never touched it remained a barren wasteland we call the badlands."

The tamers paused to absorb this new information. The answer to a single simple question had opened pathways to so many others.

"What happened to all the digimon that were absorbed by the chaos?", Ryo asked.

"Some of them were returned just as they were before they were absorbed by the chaos, but most of them were turned into digieggs and were scattered throughout the digital world. The survivors of the Chaos formed controlled areas where digimon could live without constant fear of attack and deletion; like Machine City where I live."

"Machine City?", they all echoed.

"Yes, it's a city that Machinedramon built as a place for all metal and machine digimon. It is just one of many control zones formed by powerful digimon."

"What about the Sovereign?", Henry asked.

"No one knows what the they've been doing. Some say they are waiting to see how the control zones fair, others say they are searching for the last of the chaos which has reverted to a weak state, but really no one knows what they're doing."

The tamers had mixed feelings about that news. The idea that the Sovereign were looking for the D-Reaper was good since it would give them piece of mind with the greatest threat the universe had ever known eliminated. However while they were doing that or whatever it was they were doing things were going on here and in the real world.

"Now I think it's my turn to ask a few questions", Blimpmon said.

"Huh, oh yeah sure", Takato stammered.

"Why did you humans come to the digital world?"

"To get our digimon back", he responded.

"You're digimon?"

"Yeah they're our partners. We came back to the digital world to bring them back home."

Blimpmon seemed to mull this over for a moment.

"So it is true."

"What?"

"It's a well known story that digimon who had gone to the real world achieved great power and digivolved. Many digimon want that power so they try to find their way to the real world."

"Well that's one thing that hasn't changed", Ryo commented.

"But now it's mostly the digimon stuck in the badlands. For them digivolution is necessary to survive so they'll risk everything to get to the real world. Though I've heard it's harder than it used to be."

"Why don't they go and live in those control zones?", Rika asked.

"Not all digimon are welcome in all control zones", Blimpmon answered. "Machine City is only for metal and machine digimon. The Hive is a zone on another plane where insect and bug digimon live. I heard they're fighting over territory with the local forest digimon."

"By another plane do you mean another level of the digital world?", Henry asked.

"Yes, although new ones have appeared since the chaos left. I've seen lots of them being part of the convoys but there are still come I haven't. I'd like to see them, I've always liked traveling."

"Speaking of convoys", Ryo began. "Who were these bandits that attacked you?"

Blimpmon sighed.

"Well as you can imagine being along in the badlands is very dangerous when you're a low level digimon. So many of them form groups and attack other groups or individuals they come across. They've become a real problem lately. Our defense forces have been having to organize patrols into the badlands to keep them away from the city."

Henry was thinking much the same thing that everyone else was: That Arbormon and Thunderballmon had been exactly that; bandits. Except there seemed to be more motive to their attack than that. Henry doubted a group of bandits would risk attacking a group as large as theirs (even if they were lower level) unless they were desperate. However considering how easily they gave up he doubted that was the case. The whole thing bothered him.

"Prepare for landing", Blimpmon announced as he began his descent.

Everyone held on as Blimpmon came in for a surprisingly smooth landing.

The ramp fell and everyone shuffled down and onto the rocky ground.

"Thanks for the ride Blimpmon", Jeri said happily.

"My pleasure. Good luck to you all."

Everyone shielded their faces as Blimpmon took off and headed out into the distance. Then their attention turned towards the massive ring of rock faces surrounding the data point.

Henry checked the PDA again.

"This is definitely the place."

Rika took out her digivice and began scanning.

"I don't detect anything nearby, but I don't know if this thing can detect anything through all this rock."

"Knowing our luck it probably doesn't", Kazu grumbled.

Ryo shrugged.

"Well we're not going to find out standing here, so let's get moving."

"Couldn't we just fly over?", Takato suggested. "I mean sure Blimpmon was too small but..."

"If we did we'd be in perfect sight of anyone hiding inside", Ryo told him. "We're better off going around and keeping quiet."

"Why can't anything ever be easy?", Kenta groaned.

"In my experience that usually means something bad will happen later", Ryo responded.

"Then again hard work builds character", Kenta said in a suddenly cheerful voice.

Rika smirked.

"Wish I'd thought of that."

Ryo grinned.

"You know me Princess I'm full of tricks."

Rika rolled her eyes.

They got to the gap in the rock and peered inside.

Rika took out her digivice again and rescanned.

"Still nothing" Rika said with an err of caution in her voice."

Ryo nodded to Cyberdramon who ventured forward and surveyed the area.

"No one here", he growled.

Frowning Ryo followed with everyone else close behind.

Sure enough there was nothing. Only the data point and it's bright illumination.

They reached the platform and stopped in front of the stream leading up to the world above.

"Oh man this was too easy", Kenta whined. "This means super bad luck!"

Rika glared at Ryo.

"Nice trick genius."

"Well only one thing left to do", he said. "Everyone here?"

Everyone checked to make sure their digimon were present and Jeri carried Impmon and Lopmon.

"Wait where's Calumon?"

"Up here guys!"

Everyone looked up and saw Calumon flying above them inside the light beam.

"I'm gonna' get home first!"

Suddenly the light intensified and Calumon vanished alarming the others.

"I sure hope he's headed to the right place", Henry said as he jumped into the beam.

Everyone else quickly followed and with a final burst of bright light they were gone from the digital world.

In the darkness of a large stone chamber a noisy creak disturbed the otherwise perfect silence. Two figures entered and wordlessly proceeded to the other end of the room with the door creaking shut behind them.

Flaming torches provided a medieval illumination that suited the theme of the spartan space. The stone walls were bare, devoid of any colour or decoration.

At the far end of the room was a platform that was reached with five stone steps. It was illuminated by candles rather than torches and a large data sphere spun in mid-air in the centre. Kneeling at the bottom of the steps was the same cloaked figure that had sent them off to the real world and been giving them their orders.

"Brothers", he said in a deep mellow voice. "It is good to see that you have returned safely."

Stingmon and Searchmon knelt down.

"Thank you. We have succeeded in our mission."

Searchmon's radar disk glowed and the data that he had collected from the human world appeared above it.

The cloaked figure stood up and walked over to them.

"It fills me with joy to see this. Now at last we can begin. Stay Brothers and bear witness to the fruit of your labors. This is a day that will long be remembered."

The cloaked figure grasped the sphere of data with great care and reverence and carried it up the five steps onto the platform and up to the large sphere.

Then with careful slowness he gently inserted the smaller sphere into the larger one and immediately there was a reaction.

He stepped back to the bottom of the stairs and the three watched as the sphere spun rapidly and glowed with increasing intensity until its glow outshone the torches and candles. Then it split into twelve smaller spheres and they hung suspended in midair.

"At last, all the data is together. Now we need only wait for the data to compile and then we need the Sovereign. Then at last we will have resurrected the Devas who will lead us on a glorious campaign to bring vengeance on those who tried to destroy us!"

"Rejoice brothers! The days of the humans are now numbered!"

* * *

**So didn't get done as soon as I'd hoped but hey still not bad for me.**  
**So lots of info dumped this chapter, hope its not too much for ya. I'll probably be updating Dragon's Fury next but who knows. Thanks for reading.**


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